Wilson - The Canadian Connection
by michael.e.mcfee
Summary: This is a story based on the "what-if" premise that Will and Sonny met at college abroad (in Canada).
1. Chapter 1

Will Horton relaxed into his seat. Well, relaxed might be too strong a word, for someone who was afraid of heights, and was in an airplane that was currently travelling through the air at thirty-five thousand feet. He had taken some anti-anxiety pills prescribed to him for this very purpose, so he certainly was calmer than he would have been without them. He had requested a middle seat, in the middle aisle, to prevent him having the temptation of looking out a window. One of the flight attendants, a very chipper, good looking lad named Mark had come by several times offering Will pillows, some peanuts, several chances to get glasses of water, or juice; even though technically the airplane would only be in the air for about thirty minutes. Will did appreciate the attention however, since it kept him from thinking too much about how exactly far away from the ground they really were.

It hadn't, however, kept him from thinking back to the reasons why he was in this airplane in the first place. Okay, most of these reasons weren't exactly bad and some of them were actually quite pleasant. The main one being that he had applied to, and was accepted on scholarship no less, to attend the University of Ottawa. He was going to take Computer Science with a minor in International Business Development. He had stumbled upon this neat program while looking at colleges. He had been helping Gabi search for some colleges specializing in Liberal Arts programs and had googled Ottawa University at her suggestion. He stumbled upon another university of a similar name, located in Ottawa Canada of all places. And, just out of curiosity, Will had looked into some of its programs. Gabi had dared him to apply and he had been accepted. This had not been the only program for which Will had gotten an acceptance letter. He had been accepted in a similar program at Salem U. Going to Salem U. would have been the ideal situation, especially considering, he would then still be able to help his Mom out with his brother and sisters. That is kind of hard to do when you are six hundred miles away from home. And he would normally never have considered going to a college so far away, except for the whole Coming Out thing. That had changed everything.

First of course there was the Gabi break-up at the beginning of summer, just after graduation in fact. Gabi had basically broken up with Will because of Will's failure to become intimate with her. At the time he was devastated. He so wanted to be able to love Gabi the way Gabi deserved to be loved. And he did love her. Just not in the way that he knew she wanted, needed and deserved. Around that time, there came that chance encounter with a guy named Neil at Brady's Pub. Will had been working there to help out his great grand-mother, as well as to earn some cash in order to afford college. Neil had walked in one day, with a bunch of his college friends. They sat down, ordered some food and that is when Neil noticed Will. Neil started coming back to the Pub several times in the next couple of weeks and Will got to know Neil more and more. Neil was of course the first openly gay person that Will had ever met. With Neil's help, a little under-age alcohol and a frantic kiss, Neil got Will to come out, at least to himself. With Neil's help and the help of his Grandma Marlena, Will figured out finally that he was gay. He had not been ready to come out to anyone else though. Not then.

Will's daydreaming came to end, at that point, when a voice came on the airplane's intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, please be advised that we will be commencing our descent to Ottawa in a few minutes. Please buckle your seat-belts. We are on schedule, and should be arriving at Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International airport in about fifteen minutes. You will then be asked to disembark and make your way towards Canada Customs. Thank you for your attention and have a great day."

Getting off the plane didn't take very long. Will was able get his stuff together rather quickly. He even stopped in the aisle a little while to say goodbye and to thank Mark for his great service and personal attention. Then the waiting started. First it was waiting for his luggage. Thankfully, this was a much calmer wait then waiting to get on the plane, since he didn't have to wait with his mother. And, again thankfully, Grandma Marlena was there to alleviate some of the stress. Sami tried to the bitter end to convince Will to stay in Salem. "You know, it isn't too late to change your mind", she said, repeatedly. Will supposed he couldn't really blame her for trying since it had not been long since she finally accepted that Will was not going to "turn straight". Sami had been convinced that Will wasn't really gay. It was just a phase. She was also convinced that Will was only going to a foreign country in order to get away from her. She was of course partly right. He had needed to get away from her, and from Salem. It had been the deciding factor, when he finally sent back through the admissions website that he would be attending U of O. The fact that everyone in Salem found out he was gay because Neil outed him was another matter. He couldn't really blame Neil. He really was only trying to prevent Will from going to prison for a murder he didn't commit. But the pressure of the stares Will felt upon him was too much for him. And so, here he was.

Immigration and customs were a relative breeze since he had basically been pre-approved to enter the country through the student visa process. So now, all he had to do was find the person that would take him to his dorm from the airport. He was told that the person would be holding a sign with his name on it. He walked into the arrivals area of the airport, with his cart of bags in tow and looked around. Sure enough he found the sign. His mouth fell open. Holding a rather large sign saying: "U of O welcomes William Robert Horton", was the most gorgeous man Will had ever seen: Dark hair, brown eyes; tall enough and very well built. He stopped for a moment, in order to breathe. "Whoa buddy", he thought to himself. "Calm down. It's only a cute guy. You can handle this." He then walked up to him with his identification out, as he was directed to do and said: "Hello, I'm Will Horton." The dark haired stranger put out his hand and said," Hey there. I'm Sonny"


	2. Chapter 2

Sonny had been waiting patiently for his new charge to arrive at the airport. As a Dormitory Floor Leader, one of his jobs was to pick up foreign students from the airport. And although some, like this Will Horton person, would not be coming from that far away, (in fact Mr. Horton's town was closer than a good number of students coming from within Canada) it was still deemed appropriate to have someone show up to help students, coming from foreign countries, to adjust to life in Ottawa, especially on the first day. And since this Will Horton not only came from Sonny's good Ole- US of A, but in fact, from Sonny's own home-town, someone in admin thought it would be appropriate for that helper to be Sonny Kiriakis.

" Wasn't that long ago when the one getting off the airplane and starting a new life here in Canada was me", Sonny thought to himself. He shifted a little in the seat he had acquired that basically overlooked the entire arrivals area. He had arrived fifteen minutes before the scheduled time of arrival, expecting the plane to be a little late, and sure enough, it was. He had brought a book with him, one of his favorite Christopher Rice novels, which he had gotten from his backpack and which was lying face down on his lap. Instead of reading he started to reminisce about his life so far.

He arrived here in Ottawa after having taken 2 years off to travel the world. Those two years were two of the best years of his life. He was fortunate enough to come from a rather well-to-do family with quite a few connections and so he didn't have to worry about money, at least not most of the time. He had decided to take a year off, a year that stretched to two years, in order to find himself and get away from the pressures of being a Kiriakis. Not to mention getting away from the small-town bullies. He had outed himself in his junior year in high school. Well, at least he had told his so-called best friend and baseball teammate, who had proceeded to tell his other teammates, and the rest of school. His life after that was a rather lonesome one. He pretty much kept to himself. Although because of that his grades actually improved, quite a bit. His parents wanted to send him to private school for his senior year but Sonny would have none of that. He decided that he wasn't going to let a bunch of small minded morons ruin his life, so he quit the baseball team, join the high school theater group and made many new friends. So many in fact that he became his high school's first openly gay Prom King. He had applied to several colleges and had gotten into a few, including Salem U. but decided he needed a break. So, off he went in search of himself. He thought that maybe somewhere out there would be his soul mate and decided to take the opportunity to search for him too. Because he was gay, that turned out not to be easy.

He first traveled to India and Tibet and climbed K2. Then his travels took him to the Philippines, South Korea and Japan. He then planned to spend a month or so in Africa. And there he discovered his passion for development work. So those few months turned into a year. He met a development worker named Daniel while travelling in Uganda and decided to stay awhile and help out in re-establishing a hospital and a water purification system in a small village outside of Kempala. His life with Daniel was not easy. In Uganda, you can go to jail for being gay so it was extremely difficult not to show affection in public. In the end Sonny opted to just be friends with Daniel because living back in the closet was too excruciating. Daniel encouraged him to apply to U of O as an International development student. To this day Sonny believes that the only reason he was accepted was that Daniel was an Associate Professor there and Daniel had pulled some strings, although Sonny thought that his family might have had a hand in it as well. The evidence was there in the form of a plaque on the wall of the newly renovated student lounge. Sonny figured it was only due to a small miracle that only a few of his friends and student colleagues have thus far clued into the fact that the Plaque had his last name written on it.

His daydreaming was interrupted by the sound of several dozen pairs of feet coming down the escalator, as well as a marked increase in the level of the murmur of perceptible voices and those that were just out of reach of his hearing. He stood up and grabbed his sign. "Boy this sign is corny. Hope this William Horton dude doesn't think we're all dorks." thought Sonny, as he placed the rather conspicuous sign at chest level. His eyes followed upwards towards the start of the escalators. A telltale sign of a first year student arriving into town alone was the number of boxes and suitcases in that student's possession. Business persons tended not to carry that much luggage with them. Students on the other hand had a tendency to over-pack, since they would be staying somewhere in town for several months at a time. And sure enough Sonny spotted a trolley with several suitcases, and quite a few boxes on it. As the trolley came closer into view Sonny noticed wavy blond hair. The trolley and its pusher came down the escalator with only a minimum of trouble. After shifting the trolley in order to pull it now, the student started scanning the room. And that is when Sonny noticed the student noticing him and his sign. And that is also when Sonny noticed those eyes.

They were the most beautiful combination of different shades of blue that Sonny had ever seen, on anybody. Just above those gorgeous jewels were some rather bushy blond eyebrows that lifted slightly when Sonny and his sign came into focus. The student started to walk towards him. "Oh My Effing Lord! This dude is Uber-Hot! Please be William Robert Horton! Please!" were Sonny's immediate thoughts. And as the person was getting closer, Sonny realized that he was probably looking far too excited than he should. He thought to myself, "Okay there Sonny boy. He is only an Uber-Hotty. You can handle yourself." And with that final thought the hotty reached Sonny, pulled out his identification and said, in a trying-to-hide –it-but-still-Uber-sexy voice: "Hello, I'm Will Horton." And, Sonny, dry-mouthed and a little sweat-panicky, put out his hand and uttered:" Hey there. I'm Sonny."


	3. Chapter 3

Will took Sonny's hand and grasped it as firmly as he dared, and just a little too long. He felt himself staring a little too long into Sonny's eyes and turned his head away slightly to look at the sign. With the eye contact disengaged Sonny could finally compose himself and he noticed that Will was now looking at the sign. "Sorry for the sign Will. It's sort of standard, University bureaucracies and all that. "Will smiled, his right eyebrow lifting slightly and a cutesy-smirk developed on his face. "It's a little dorky, but it did do the job", he said. Sonny finally woke up from his hormonally infested day-dream to say, "Welcome to Ottawa Will. Sorry I'm the only one in the welcoming committee. We usually try to get a group of us together but since it's only 11:30 am now, lots of us weren't even up yet, and those that were had things to do to get ready for the influx of new students that will be coming tomorrow." Will surprised even himself when he blurted out, "Oh. Don't worry about it. You were enough." And then, while also noticing that his entire face was becoming beet-red, he thought to himself, "Did I really say that out loud? Whatever happened to your inside-voice, buddy?" Sonny had noticed that Will's face had flushed slightly when he last spoke. "Now that was interesting. I'll have to file that little blush for later analysis. ", he thought. He looked at Will, a smile coming across his face and said: "You are actually one of the first. The first first-year on my floor anyway, so let's get this show on the road." And with that, Sonny grabbed the trolley and headed toward the parking lot.

Will's POV

Will let Sonny go first, as they approached the large revolving door, heading outside. Will , thinking that there would be room enough for the trolley, Sonny and himself, walked quickly behind Sonny, who was now pushing the trolley so that he wouldn't have to wait for the next door. It was a very tight fit. In fact, it was such a tight fit that Will needed to basically lean forward and straddle Sonny's waist while he steadied himself by grabbing on to Sonny's shirt. Sonny was slightly bent over so his backside lightly brushed against Will's front. "Oh My God! What was I thinking?" thought Will as he desperately tried to right himself only to have to lean in on Sonny even more. "He is going to think I am coming on to him. I'm not even sure if he is gay. And even if he is, I am NOT ready for this, even if this closeness feels really really nice. And boy does this Sonny have a nice ass." His thoughts flashed back to the airport in Salem and his last conversation with his Grandma Marlena.

Will remembered how Marlena had taken him aside while Sami had gone to check the departure times and had taken the opportunity to give him one of her famous grandmotherly-therapist infused pep talks. "Will, you know I've had reservations concerning your motivations in accepting to go to school so far away. And yes, before you say anything, I know you've told me before that you are not running away from your problems. But you did let it slip once that maybe this could be a good opportunity for you to go back in the closet, where it's safe." Will had looked at his grandmother in the eyes, noticed the love staring back at him and decided not to get angry. Instead, he said "Grandma, you know I was only joking". "I know", replied Marlena, "But in case you were even a bit serious please let me just say that, for your own health, I hope that you remain true to yourself. It doesn't mean you have to act on any feelings if you aren't comfortable yet in doing so. You've only been out of the closet, so to speak, for a few months now. But Will, do me a favour and stay out." Will remembered her smile and also the fact that he promised her that he would be true to himself and that he would stay out of the so-called gay closet. He was also grateful that she had not brought up the whole Neil thing and the attention he got from those newspaper articles. Will knew that although he still had to deal with the emotional fallout of these things, he was dealing with them, in his own way and in his own time.

As the door to the outside finally swung open, the blast of late August sunlight jolted Will back to reality as Will, Sonny and the trolley were finally free. Will exclaimed a little too loudly:" I'm so sorry Sonny! I thought we had room enough. I didn't mean to encroach on your personal space. As Sonny turned around laughing, at what Will thought was the whole revolving door thing he heard Sonny say in a chocked-up laughing voice ," encroaching my Personal space?" Will signed, "Yeah sorry about that. My grandmother is a therapist." Will heard Sonny laughing even louder.

Sonny's POV

As Sonny pushed the trolley into the open space left by the revolving door, he gave the trolley a little extra push causing him to jolt a little, and extend his posterior upwards, just ever so slightly. He felt a sudden pressure on his waist and lower down, firm hands grasping at his shirt and warmth on his buttocks. "Oh Lord!" he thought to himself, "I hope Will doesn't think I'm coming on to him. I'm not 100% sure he's gay, although my gaydar has been going off ever since the handshake. This closeness does feel really nice. And I mean REALLY nice. But I'm not sure I'm ready for anything like this yet"

Sonny's mind flashed back to the reasons for his reluctant feelings, The whole business with Daniel coming back after a year, trying to start something with Sonny again, while still hanging onto Christopher. "A threesome would be fun" and "You just used me to get into this program", were just two of many phrases Daniel used to lash out and/or entice Sonny into rekindling whatever it was Daniel thought they had in Africa. Sonny could not allow himself to forget those awkward and emotional moments. And then there was the whole Big Mistake issue. Big Mistake was coming back in a few days, and will probably want to get Sonny back into his life, yet again. Sonny wasn't sure how he was going to handle that one. Sonny had promised himself that he would not go down the casual sex route with anyone ever again. There should be love first, then sex. He couldn't deny his attraction to this Will person, and he believed that Will was also attracted to him based on what he was feeling down towards his derriere, although he couldn't be sure, the closeness only lasted a second. However, it probably wouldn't be fair to Will to start anything right now. If Sonny's first impressions were correct then he believed that Will wasn't exactly the experienced type, or even out of the closest. Sonny wasn't sure if he wanted to involve himself in that kind of mess, yet again.

Sonny was jolted out of his day dream when he heard Will say the funniest thing: "I didn't mean to encroach on your personal space." He couldn't help himself, he started to laugh. And when Will continued ""Yeah sorry about that. My grandmother is a therapist", he laughed even harder.


	4. Chapter 4

Trying to ignore Sonny's laughter, Will looked around and surveyed the outside front entrance of the airport, wondering if he were going to have to take public transit to U of O. Will remembered that in one of his myriad of e-mails and IM communiqués, there was mention of a U of O shuttle bus. He looked around and could not see any bus with the University logo on it. Sonny noticed Will looking around and forced himself to stop laughing. It was hard, but he did it. He ascertained quite quickly what Will was trying to find, so he said "Will, the U of O shuttle bus would not be arriving until later this afternoon and even though most of your stuff will be arriving by UPS tomorrow, you have way too much stuff to travel by bus. The powers that be thought somebody should pick you up and since you will be staying on my floor and right next to me, that person is me. Oh, and that gives me the opportunity to feel important because I get to drive one of the Residence vehicles. So thank you Will. The van is over there", and he pointed to the parking lot.

After both Sonny and Will wrestled with the luggage and put it in the van, and as a consequence after each had the opportunity to watch how the others muscles looked as they worked, they hopped in the van and were off. Sonny had decided, since there was a little time and he didn't have to get back to the dormitory for a few hours yet, since he was actually ahead of schedule in organizing his floors, that he would take Will on a little sight-seeing tour. He started on the Airport Parkway and turned off, headed towards Riverside drive, all the while explaining to Will that Ottawa had two rivers running through it, three if you counted the Rideau Canal and several rather beautiful parks along the shores of each and he was going to take Will to one of them. Will seemed to be enthusiastic, albeit slightly apprehensive. Sonny decided to loosen the tension a little bit by making small-talk. "So, Will, how's Salem these days?" he asked, to start the conversation off. Will looked at Sonny, a look of slight astonishment on his face. Sonny of course was anticipating this very reaction and continued , "It's not like the CIA Will, I'm not privy to everything about you, but as a Floor Leader, I do get to know things, like where you come from and your age, and a little bit of background. " Sonny looked at Will, and saw calm flowing across Will's face as he talked until he heard the word background. Sonny continued, "Although, I'm mostly interested because my family comes from there. My last name is Kiriakis. My Mom and Dad are Justin and Adrienne Kiriakis and Victor Kiriakis is my great-uncle. Being a Horton, I'm sure you've heard of them."

Sonny's POV

Sonny could see the blood from Will's face drain from his face, and a look came across his face that surprised Sonny, an emotional soup containing parts surprise, worry, guilt and shame. Will stammered out :" You- you're Justin Kiriakis' son?" Sonny nodded and Will continued: "Th-then you know about me." Will then looked away from Sonny, and became rather silent. "Know about you?" What is there to know?" thought Sonny. He hadn't really been in touch with his family all summer. He had gone to visit them in Salem for a few days, before leaving for Ecuador where he took on a position helping establish clean-water facilities in remote communities; and Skyped with his Mom and Dad several times a week during that time. It was also during that time that Big Mistake showed up and tried to mess with his head, again. Sonny flashed back to Big Mistake, having tracked Sonny down and followed him all the way to Ecuador, embarrassed him in front of the whole camp, as well as some villagers, by practically begging for Sonny to take him back. Sonny had of course refused. But he was emotionally drained as a result. His father had e-mailed him several times during those days regarding a case he had. "Oh. ", thought Sonny, "That was Will?" Sonny wasn't sure what to say. Although, if his father's case did indeed involve Will, then that at least solved the mystery of Will's sexual-orientation, as well as his shyness around Sonny. Sonny didn't want to push Will into saying or revealing anything that he wasn't ready for, so he kept his silence.

It wasn't long before they were at the park. "This is Hog's Back. It's the junction where the Rideau River and the Rideau Canal separate. Hog's Back is the falls." The falls are impressive, especially in the spring. Not nearly and impressive as Niagara Falls," Will interrupted him, "But what isn't, right?" he said with a smirk, and then became silent again. They disembarked from the van and went along the small path where they saw the dammed-up area where the River split into two. One part became a falls, where the river continued on. The other part became a canal system where a series of locks allowed boats to travel from here all the way to the Ottawa River, about nine kilometers away. Will and Sonny stopped to look at the canal locks, with its huge double doors that had to be manually cranked. "It's beautiful", said Will.

"Wait till you see the falls, Will!" And with that Sonny grabbed will's elbow and gently pulled him towards the falls, although he noticed will pulling back slightly as if he hesitated to go forward. When they got to the falls, Sonny exclaimed, "See! Aren't they great?" But then he noticed Will go rigid. Will started shaking in front of Him. Sonny could see that Will was in full flight mode. He grabbed Will suddenly, enveloping him in as huge and comfortable a hug as he dared. " I'm so sorry Will! He whispered. Will looked into Sonny's eyes and panted out,"S-S-Sonny I was … I was… "And Sonny could only say, "I know Will I'm so sorry. I know"

Will's POV

From the minute Will realized that Sonny was Justin Kiriakis' son he was in a panic." Oh my God! He knows!. . Mr. Kiriakis had said that he had a gay son and he was going to ask him to talk to me about what it was like to be out of the closet and openly gay. But that didn't happen and then it was too late." Will thought. Sonny was the right age. Will glanced at Sonny. He could tell Sonny knew something. He was so embarrassed. He needed to calm down so he started to pay more attention to the scenic Ottawa surroundings. Ottawa was a beautiful city.

They got out of the van and walked towards the Rideau Canal. And it was beautiful. Then they walked to the falls and he tried to not remember but the surroundings were too similar to forget.

As a result of a very nasty reporter and the subsequent newspaper and on-line blogs associated with it, everyone knew that Will was at a gay bar at the time that Stephano Demira was supposedly killed. He was innocent of murder but guilty of being gay. Will knew that Neil felt guilty about all the attention that Will was getting because of this. Will had told Neil that he understood why Neil had outed him. It was either that or prison. And Neil was right. Having people know he was gay was far better than going to prison. Neil was avoiding Will, so Will got up the courage and invited Neil to go with him to the countryside to talk. Things were going very well, until a group of very nasty people showed up. Somehow they had found out about where Will and Neil were going and they wanted to make an example of them. Will had brought Neil to one of his favorite places. A small falls on a river just outside of Salem.

The problem was that the reporter had found out where Will planned to take Neil and tweeted the location out to the masses saying that: "Those fags needed to be taught a lesson before their sin was brought down us all." Neil was very badly hurt that day. Will however was more than physically hurt. His cousin Nick was part of that group and decided to teach Will a more personal lesson; In front of Neil; In front of all his gang. His Grandma Marlena kept reminding him that it wasn't his fault. He wasn't to blame. But he still felt dirty and used and worthless. He couldn't face Neil. And he made a few disastrous decisions as a consequence of this incident.

He was jolted out of this nightmare, shivering and sweaty, by two strong, caring arms surrounding him, making him feel safe. And although he felt so ashamed and embarrassed by his reaction, it surprised him that he was glad to have someone there. Even though he had only met this person thirty minutes or so ago. He looked up and stared into sonny's caring eyes and said, ","S-S-Sonny I was … I was… "And he knew he didn't need to say it. Sonny knew. For some miracle of a reason he found a stranger that actually cared. "I know Will I'm so sorry. I know", said Sonny. "Let's take you home."


	5. Chapter 5

The ride to the university was in silence. The route they took, took them along the Canal. Will could feel Sonny's presence, as Will looked out the window, taking in his surroundings. He felt conflicted in his feelings. His Grandma Marlena and other doctors and counsellors told him he would feel this way. Sonny was the first person that Will felt comfortable being near, except for his grandmothers and his Mom and Gabi. Sonny was the first male, since the incident two months ago, that Will would let near him. And right now, he wasn't sure whether he wanted Sonny near him like that again or not, hence the conflict.

For his part, and for some reason that he really couldn't fathom, all Sonny wanted to do was take Will's hand and hold him tight. But he also knew that Will wouldn't be able to handle that right now.

At some point Will could see in the distance a tower with a Canadian flag on it, to his left. That must be the Parliament Buildings. And to his right was the University. There were quite a few buildings, and as they got closer, what looked like three apartment buildings. One of them was Stanton Residence. "So", he thought to himself, "this is going to be home for awhile."

After Sonny parked the van, Sonny led Will to the Residence admin Area. "I'll leave you here for a bit Will, and I'll arrange to have your stuff brought up your room." Sonny left and Will took some time to just look around a bit. When Will walked in he could see the admin offices on the right and what looked like the entrance to a recreation lounge for residents on the left. He walked up to the counter, having taken out his ID to show to the clerk. It didn't take long for him to get keys and a residence ID card that would allow him access to the areas allowed to him. The pass card was also used to purchase food at cafeterias and some other student facilities.

Just as Will finished with all the admin paperwork, Sonny returned and directed Will to the door leading to Stanton Residence, hopped on the elevator and reached the 18th floor.

Will and Sonny walked out of the elevators. Will noticed that right in front of them were glass doors leading to a room with a kitchen and what looked like a few tables at least one couch and a TV. Sonny noticed Will's interest and said, "That's the floor lounge, Will. It's a kitchen and a TV with DVD, Wii and Xbox. The whole floor is Wi-fied so you can bring your laptop here, if you want. If you don't have a laptop you'll probably get one since you're in Comp-Sci. ", Will was very interested in that. "I already have one but I will be getting another one tomorrow. One of the many things I have to do." Sonny nodded and said, "Well if you turn to your right, both your room and mine are that way." They both turned right and when they got to the end Sonny gestured to the door slightly to their left. "This would be your room", he said. "Mine is just in the corner. " And Sonny pointed to the small corridor to the right. Will saw that his name was in a little tab on the right side of the door and another name was on the left. "I'm on the right side I guess? Sonny nodded and said, "Try your key and see if it works." Will did, and the door opened. "Great! It worked!" said Sonny a little mockingly, "Okay Will I'll let you get settled and in a few hours I'll come by and show you where the food is., alright?" Will nodded his agreement and before Will walked inside he turned to Sonny, grabbed both Sonny's arms and said, "Sonny, thanks for what you did today, especially at the park. And thank you for not saying anything or asking questions, because I know you must have a few. I promise I'll answer some of them later. Okay? Sonny nodded. And with that said, Will turned and walked into his home away from home.

Will's POV

Will stepped into the room and looked around. There were two windows and below each was a desk. Beside each desk on the opposite walls, was a bed. And Will could see a portable closet on the foot side of his bed. His bags and boxes had been placed near it. Will spent some time unpacking, placing sheets and covers on the bed, putting clothes in the closet and unpacking his laptop and his Ipad. He e-mailed and facebooked his Mom and Gaby and decided to try and Skype with his Grandma Marlena before he would do the same to her. And sure enough there was the familiar ping and Marlena's face became visible on his Ipad screen. "Well, hello there grandson of mine, did you make it to your destination safe and sound? " Will nodded and said "Yes Grandma I did and here's my new temporary home." And he waved his Ipad around. " Looks good", said Marlena. Meet any interesting people yet?" Will inwardly thanked his grandmother for that opening. "Yes Grandma, a few; one in particular actually. " And Will waited for his grandmother's customary, "Oh?", and continued:" Yes. A rather good looking, nice guy met me at the airport." Marlens smiled: "And?" Will went right on talking, "His name is Sonny; Sonny Kiriakis." He waited for his grandmother to mouth an "Oh." "Yes Grandma, did you and Mr. Kiriakis plan this? Did you know he was here? He seemed to know about me. He's my Floor Leader. And I have a room right next to him. " Marlena took a deep breath and continued:" Will. Yes I knew Sonny was at U of O, but I did not know he would be the one to pick you up at the airport, much less that he would be your floor mate. I was going to ask you to get in touch with him when you were ready. Why? Did something happen?" Will's face took on a semi-worried yet determined look and he said: "Well, Sonny took me to a park here in Ottawa, one that has a waterfall and I kind of had a flashback." Marlena started to look a little concerned. "And?" she said. Will continued:" He hugged me. Said something consoling, and I calmed down." Marlena knew just how significant that was. She made a mental to talk to Justin and see what exactly Sonny knew about Will's situation. "And were you okay with that?" Will smiled and then frowned. "Yes" he said. "More than okay, and that's the problem. " Marlena smiled: "I see" she said.

Will talked to his grandmother some more and then said his goodbyes. He went to his bed and lay down. Now would be a good time to try it out to see how comfortable it was to sleep on. He dozed off to sleep. An undetermined amount of time passed when he woke up with a start. He heard knocking outside his door. He jumped up, went to the door and opened it.

Sonny's POV

Sonny turned and walked to his room, and opened it with his key. He looked around. As a Floor Leader, he didn't have a roommate and as you walked in you were in a room with a little table near a couch. There were a few chairs and a desk. This was a common area for visits from floor mates, an area to have meetings or private conversations. To the side was a locked door, which he opened. This was his private sanctuary. He walked in and went straight to his desk. He finished some paperwork, including a diary which included his meeting of Will, and then preceded to text his father:" Dad. I'm on Skype. Need to talk. Sxoxo" And then he waited for a reply. He received one almost immediately. "Son, I'll Skype in 5"

A short while later Justin contacted his Son through Skype. "Hey Dad." said Sonny in as matter-of-fact a voice as he could muster. "I have something I need to discuss with you." His father looked at him with his professional I'm-a-lawyer-and-I-can-remain-calm voice and said:" Oh. Really. What would that be, Son?" Sonny looked at his father, a semi-smirk crawling across his face. "Will Horton", was all he said. "Oh." came his father's reply. "Yeah. Dad, I got a bit from your e-mails about him. I'm his Floor Leader. I picked him up from the airport. By the way, you could have told me how HOT he was, anyway, I brought him to a park and he reacted. Can you tell me more?" His father looked at him sympathetically. He had tried not to react when he heard his son use the word "hot" to describe Will Horton, but inwardly he thought that he should discuss this with Marlena. "I'm afraid I can't Sonny." Sonny signed and replied, "I didn't think so. I'll have to ask him myself. Great. Oh and by the way, don't think that I can't recognize plotting when I experience it." Justin laughed. They continued pleasantries until Sonny signed off.

Sonny decided to continue with his First year Frosh Week planning and then decided to take a little nap. He was awoken by rather loud knocking at his door and a rather loud voice shouting: "Sonny! Sonny! I know you're in there! Open up Sonny! We need to talk!" Sonny thought:" Great." Big Mistake had arrived here earlier than he expected.


	6. Chapter 6

Will's POV

Will opened his door to find a rather good looking, slim, dark-haired, and rather flamboyantly dressed young man in his early twenties standing rigidly in front of Sonny's door. "Sonny! Open the door!" Will was about to close his door and go to his computer, when he saw Sonny's door open. There was a shirtless Sonny, standing there looking rather annoyed. He looked really good in just his pants. Will couldn't help himself. He just stared. Then he realized that he was also shirtless, because it was rather hot and humid in the room, and he took his shirt off before he lay down. With a slight sense of panic Will couldn't move.

Sonny's POV

Sonny opened the door to find Maxime Thibodeau standing in front of him, hands on his hips looking rather smug. "Max. How the hell did you get in here? You aren't a resident of Stanton anymore. You need to leave. Now. I could call campus security on you. How did you get in anyway?" He leaned across his doorway, right arm extended upward to the top of the doorway, legs apart, left arm bent, and hand on hip. He was trying to act casual and nonchalant; trying to diffuse the tension, hoping that Max would just leave. Max just stood there with an overconfident smirk on his face. "Friends let me in" he said. Sonny shot back, "They better hope I don't find out who they are." Then Sonny noticed Will standing in his doorway, with his shirt off, light blue boxer shorts that matched the colour of his eyes peeking up from his trousers. He must have stared a little too long because that distracted Max enough to look in Will's direction. Max looked back at Sonny and said: "Who's the super-model?" And that is when Will did the cutest thing ever. Will twisted his body back towards his room, as if to look to see who Max was talking about. Obviously not believing it could be him.

Will's POV

Will was still distracted by Sonny's bare torso, especially since it had elongated when Sonny stretched out. He knew he should just close his door, and then he noticed Sonny was looking at him and he just couldn't move. The guy standing in front of him turned his head towards Will and said:" Who's the super-model?" He couldn't help himself. He instinctively looked in back of himself to see who this Max guy was talking about. Max just turned his head towards Sonny and said mockingly:" Yeah, he's a super-model alright. Certainly has the lack of brains for one. As well as a smokin' hot bod" Max then turned towards Will, grabbed him by the waistband and pulled, causing Will to stumble forward. Then Will felt arms wrap around his waist and bare shoulder. He became instantly rigid, and not in a good way.

Max's POV

Max noticed that this hot blond dude was instantly uncomfortable, and he didn't care. He had noticed the looks Sonny and hot-dude had been sharing, and he did not like that one bit. He wanted Sonny. And if he had to use someone else to get him, then he would. Or, if he had to, he'd take something away from Sonny, and teach him not to fuck with him. Besides, Hot-dude might be a nice little treat, a notch on his belt, a distraction he could throw away when Sonny came to his senses. Max Thibodeau usually got what he wanted and he had wanted Sonny for a very long time. "So Hot-Stuff. What is YOUR name? Come on now, don't be shy." A very uncomfortable Will stammered out:" W-W-Will. My name is Will". Max started asking Will questions all the while staring at Sonny, an intense cruel smirk on his face. He also started gently groping Will with his fingers, causing Will to become even more uncomfortable. "Where're you from Will? Known Sonny long? Have you two done the deed yet? Cause it certainly looks like Sonny wants to. I'd be careful Will, honey. Sonny here is the love-em-and-leave–em type."

Sonny's POV

Sonny could see poor Will becoming more and more uncomfortable, by the second. He knew that Max's closeness and his silly groping were taking a toll on Will. He could also see from Max's expression that Max knew it too, and didn't care. Max would use Will as a weapon against him, if Sonny let him. He also knew that the subject on which he was about to embark would make Will even more uncomfortable, but he had no choice. Taking Max away from Will by inviting Max into his room may have to be the solution. Sonny thought that this was what Max was hinting at. But, Sonny really didn't want to be alone with Max at all. So Sonny decided to take Max head-on. "Max, we had sex one time. Once. After I repeatedly told you that I wasn't interested and that I just wanted to be friends. If you want to get into the details right here, in front of Will, then perhaps that is what we'll need to do." Max looked at Sonny, a sneer coming across his face, a little laugh escaping him as he said: "Not the date-rape thing again. Please. You wanted it just as much as I did." Sonny winced a little because, although he had wanted Max to say it, he didn't want Will to hear it. It did have the desired effect on Will though. Something Sonny was extremely sorry about.

Will's POV

Will was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. He could feel Max's groping hands along his shoulder and waist. He knew that Max was using him to get to Sonny for some reason. Fear and guilt and disgust were fast coming back to the surface. Feelings he had not yet been able to completely suppress He looked at Sonny hoping he would somehow say something to get this jerk away from him. Max was treating him like a piece of meat, like some toy. He hated that feeling. It brought back far too many bad memories. It was obvious from the start that there was history between Sonny and this Max person. It was also becoming increasingly obvious to Will that Sonny felt trapped. Will knew what that felt like. When Max wasn't really looking for any replies. Those questions were taunts. Will wasn't totally sure if Max was taunting him or Sonny, until he heard the "R" word. And then he had had enough.

Will grabbed Max's arms and threw them away from him. He pushed Max away from him and turned to face him. Will was on the verge of an angry rage that he had not felt in over a month, thanks mostly to his Grandma Marlena. He was told that the anger and guilt he felt would remain with him for a very long time. He had managed to keep this rage in check, but it was becoming increasingly hard. He looked intensely at Max and spoke almost in a whisper: "You think rape is funny? You think people LIKE being taken advantage of? How egotistical can you get? No means no. It NEVER means yes and it certainly doesn't mean MAYBE LATER either. Sonny is not a toy for you to own, play with, and discard, and neither am I." I haven't known Sonny very long, but he seems like a really good guy. Sorry I can't say the same about you. Now, if you'll get out of my way. I'm going back to my room." He pushed Max lightly out of the way, stepped into his room turned around and closed the door.

Sonny's POV

As Will reacted to what Max said, for a second Sonny thought that Will might have a similar breakdown as he did in the park. Sonny was very surprised when the look on Will's face went from fearful to determined. He almost smiled when Will turned on Max. Maybe Will's outburst was what Max needed to hear. Sonny had basically said those very words, but maybe the fact they were coming from a total stranger would do the trick. When Will closed his door on Max, Sonny decided to end this conversation. He turned to Max and said: "You and I had sex because someone slipped something into my drink one night and you took advantage of that. Do you want me to go on? You have been stalking me ever since. You even followed me to Ecuador. I've told you many times that I am not interested. Get. It. Through. You're. Thick. Head. We . Are. Done. Well not really done because we never really started and our friendship is through. Now leave." Sonny saw Max's face turn even more stern, if that was possible. "Fine. I'm outta here." Max turned and left for the elevator. Sonny knew that Max was probably not done but he would deal with it later. Sonny continued to watch him until Max got on the elevator. He then turned around and gently knocked on the door to Will's room. He then said very softly: "Will? Are you okay? He's gone Will. Please open the door so I know you're okay. Will? Please?"

Will's POV

Will heard Sonny through the door. "Will? Are you okay? "And Will thought:" No I'm not exactly okay. I wanted to punch the smug off that Max's twinky little face." Will heard myself say:" Will buddy. I'm proud of you. You almost panicked but didn't You stood up for yourself and for Sonny. Will then heard Sonny, again through the door: "He's gone Will. Please open the door so I know you're okay." Will wasn't sure if that was a good idea. He'd only met Sonny a few hours ago. Why was he feeling this way? He hadn't felt this close to anyone in so long, especially another guy. He wasn't sure if he was ready for a relationship with a guy, even if they were just friends. He heard Sonny again: "Will? Please?"

Will opened the door and let Sonny in. Sonny started to apologize about Max and he wanted to explain what all that was about. Sonny was so sorry that Will had gotten involved in that. Will let Sonny talk. And when Sonny was done Will told Sonny about earlier that summer. They talked till they were too hungry to talk. They went to eat and then talked some more. When Sonny left Will's room that night, Will hugged him. Sonny smiled and said. "I'll wake you up early tomorrow. Your roommate will be showing up any time after 10:00 a.m. " Oh and by the way Will, if you get anxious being alone during the night, just remember that MY bed is just a few inches of drywall away from yours. Hope that makes you feel better. Sonny smiled and left the Room. Will smiled to himself. Just a few inches of drywall? That actually did make him feel better.


	7. Chapter 7

Will's POV

Will's Laptop, his Ipad and his Ipod alarms all went off at the time. 9:00 a.m. He groggily got up out of bed, put his dressing gown over his pyjamas, gathered his toiletries and opened his door in order to go to the floor bathroom and wash up and brush his teeth, and immediately ran into Sonny who, also dressed in his dressing gown, had come to make sure Will woke up on time. Thankfully Sonny was paying attention, because he grabbed Will tightly and side-stepped so they wouldn't collide and hurt each other. Will, being held tightly in Sonny's arms, felt safe, and not being able to help himself, breathed Sonny in." Even after a full night's sleep Sonny smells good", he thought. "Well, Good Morning Will. I see you're up." Will nodded and thought to himself: "In more ways than one" and they both headed to wash.

Sonny and Will along with several other students all went for breakfast at the main cafeteria, located in the Unicentre, which is the main student's association building on campus, and situated right across the street from Stanton Residence. Will met quite a few new faces and surprised a few people by being able to have a conversation in French. Guess it helps to have lived in Switzerland and France during most of his childhood. After breakfast Will set out to get his school laptop. He was still in line for it when he heard his cellphone bleep. A text had arrived, from Sonny:" yr rm8t is hr." It was 10:00 a.m.

Sonny's POV

After breakfast with Will and a bunch of Sonny's friends from Residences across campus, and after Will stunned quite a few people with his fluency in French, that put a smile on Sonny's face, just another reason to really like Will, Sonny started back to Stanton. Sonny remembered Will being funny and articulate, in two languages no less, and seemed to be fairly at ease with Sonny's friends.

Sonny went back up to his floor to begin to supervise the influx of students coming in. He was Floor Leader for the 17th and 18th floors, although he had a deputy on the 17th, who was there specifically for the first-year students, so that any problems could be handled immediately, a position Sonny had held last year. Sonny was also on the Residence Association committee for Stanton, which meant any issues that the Floor Leaders deemed too much for them to handle went up to them. The Committee also organized special events for Stanton residents, including Frosh Week, and a representative from the Stanton Committee, was on the Full Residence Association Committee.

Sonny was at his desk in the public area of his room when he saw a rather tall, thin student with cropped brown hair and glasses go to what Sonny was referencing in his mind as Will's room, used his key, opened the door, and was followed by who Sonny supposed were his mother and father. So Thomas Belford had arrived. He texted Will that his roommate was here. Seconds later he heard a rather abrasive voice cry out: "Oh Hell No!" Sonny stood up from his desk and walked over to the open door to Will's room to see what was happening. He thought to himself: "This doesn't seem like a good start."

As he got to the door, Sonny looked in to see, probably-Thomas with Will's laptop in his arms, just about to place it on the other side's desk. He stepped in the room, all the while thinking "Great. Not another one of those", and proceeded to introduce himself. "Hey there, I'm Sonny Kiriakis your Floor Leader. You must be Thomas, right?" Thomas finished placing the lap-top on the desk, looked towards Sonny and said. "Yes I am. And this will not do, not at all. I specifically requested to have a bed on the right side. They refused to give me a room by myself stating some crap about first-years never having solo rooms. I was told I would get what I want. This William dude must have switched the names on the door around." This wasn't the first time Sonny had to deal with trivialities like this and he supposed it wouldn't be the last. "Actually, the room placement part of the roommate selection process is done purely by lot. There are very rarely exceptions. You can wait and ask your roommate if he wouldn't mind switching, but we tend to discourage that. It's part of the residential experience. " Sonny looked at Thomas and said "So if you wouldn't mind returning the laptop and anything else you moved to where it was, that would be appreciated." He heard Mrs. Belford say to her husband: "Not very good service is it." Sonny looked at her and said: "Mrs. Belford?" and she nodded curtly. "Mrs. Belford, with all due respect this is a residence, not a hotel. Now if you would excuse me." And Sonny left the room with Mrs Belford whispering to her husband: "well I never" Just loud enough for Sonny to hear.

Will's POV

Wll was on his way back to Stanton when he got another text from Sonny: "Will. Stay away frm yr room for now. Plz. Don't worry" Will looked at the time. It was 11:00 a.m. Don't worry? How was he supposed to NOT worry now? He passed Stanton and decided to walk to Tabaret Hall and start the registration process for his classes and finish some financial paperwork. He hoped everything was alright and wondered what could be going on?

Sonny's POV

Sonny had been making the rounds, saying hello to some returning students that he recognized and helping some first-years settle in when Mr. Belford came by, and practically tore him away from a first-year, directing Sonny to follow him stating: "This is totally unacceptable". Sonny went along wondering what could possibly be wrong now. Was the colour of the walls too beige or something? They arrived at Will's room, Sonny was gestured in and Mr. Belford closed the door. Thomas was at his laptop which he had set up and gestured to Sonny. "You need to see this." Sonny went forward and bent towards the screen. On it was an article with a photo of Will and a caption "Local Salem Resident has Gay alibi for the shooting of Stephano DeMira." Mr. Belford looked at Sonny and said: "Well, what are you going to do about this?" Sonny stared blanking at Mr. Belford. "About what, sir?" was all Sonny could say. "About my son having to live with an assassin", chimed in Mrs. Belford. She was interrupted by her husband: "That boy is gay. No son of mine is going to have to live with a gay boy who might murder him in his sleep or worse rape him. I want this William Horton person deported. Now" Sonny could not believe what he was hearing. Were these the three last homophobic people in Canada? They have same-sex marriage here for heaven's sake! "Um. Mr. Belford. The University has vetted Mr. Horton or he would not have been allowed into the country. And as for him being gay, I'm sure if Thomas here would simply meet William, who by the way, I've met; he would find that William is a nice enough person. "Sonny looked at Thomas, who smirked and looked at his dad: "Don't worry Dad, when this guy tries something I'll just call the cops on him and he'll be deported." Sonny couldn't help but notice the "when" in that statement: When and not if. And he made a decision. "I will be right back", he said and left the room.

Will's POV

Will had finished his errands at Tabaret Hall and decided to wander. It was a gorgeous day out. He decided to take an impromptu tour of the library, testing out his new laptop and the system of Wi-Fi conduits all around campus. He decided to visit the Unicentre in more detail and wandered into the first of two sports complexes and watched the swim team do their exercises through the large observation glass looking down on the pool. He had texted Sonny a few times to see if it were okay for him to head home, with the reply being: "Not yet. B Patient J "Then Sonny finally texted back saying it was okay to come home.

Sonny's POV

Sonny made a few phone calls, all the while trying to settle this little pocket of rage that was developing. First Will had to go through stuff in Salem, then Max used him as a pawn against me, practically molesting him in the process, and now he has to deal with a bunch of bigots. Unbelievable.

About an hour later Sonny walked back to Will's room. Will's stuff had been placed back into boxes and suitcases. Again, Unbelievable. And Thomas was on Will's side of the room talking with his parents. "What is this?" said Sonny: "I said I would take care of it. I never said that Mr. Horton was moving out." Mrs. Belford simply smiled, smugness rolling across her face. "Well, we assumed that meant this boy would be leaving, so I just helped things along." At that moment another person walked into the room. The University's Residence Coordinator did not look very happy. She looked at Sonny: "I take it these are the Belford's." And Sonny simply nodded. The Coordinator simply continued: "Mr. and Mrs. Belford, and Thomas. It has come to the University's attention that certain unpleasant things were said concerning one of our new students." The two adult Belfords were going to interrupt and the Coordinator waved them off. "The University does not want to discuss that at the moment. We have found alternate accommodations for Thomas here. There will be a large premium attached, financial and otherwise. It will be a single-bed room. But let me say that a note will be attached as to the reason for this particular change, just in case the three of you think that this is a reward. It is not. The University is not pleased and will be monitoring Thomas' conduct very closely. Also, the room will not be ready until tomorrow so Thomas will need to find alternate accommodation until then, at his expense, of course. Mr. Kiriakis here will supervise your packing. "She turned to Thomas and said:" Thomas, please present yourself to Tabaret Hall tomorrow so we can tell you where your room is and also to schedule mandatory counselling. I'll see myself out" and she left. The rest of Sonny's time with the Belfords was in virtual silence as they prepared to leave.

Will's POV

Will walked into his room to find Sonny placing Will's laptop on his desk. He looked around and noticed certain things had been moved around. And that the other half of the room was completely empty. He then looked inquisitively at Sonny and said: "What happened here? Where's the new guy?" Sonny told him everything. At the end of the discussion Will looked a bit shaken. Without thinking Sonny put his hand on Will's cheek, and Will took hold of Sonny's hand with one of his. They simply stared at one another for what Will thought was an eternity, and yet also no time at all. Sonny let go of Will's cheek and both their hands fell to their side. "It will be okay Will. I promise." As Sonny turned to leave, Will grabbed his arm to turn him around again. Will leaned forward and gave Sonny a small and very delicate peck on the cheek." Thank you" he said, and turned away in order to avoid having Sonny see him blush. Sonny left Will's room gently smoothing his cheek with his hand, and smiling.


	8. Chapter 8

Will's POV

The next afternoon, Will was busily finalizing his course registration. But, Will could not help but think back to this morning. He had been excited. He was waiting in the cafeteria, with Sonny, for his potential new roommate to arrive. Since yesterday's disastrous situation it was thought that perhaps the potential roommates should meet so that, if either one was uncomfortable, then one or the other could back out. Will told Sonny that a meeting of that sort wasn't necessary. Sonny had looked at Will and said: "Will, you have been through a lot. It's not just me; in fact it was the Residence Coordinator, Joyce Martin, that suggested this. You deserve to feel comfortable." Will could not argue with that. And, in short order, Marc Lamlin arrived and introduced himself.

Marc's POV

Marc saw two rather good-looking guys who were sitting a bit closer to each other than was normal, well normal for straight guys anyway. They were sitting in the area where he was told to be, so he sat down and introduced himself. The guy named Sonny, his potential Floor Leader was acting as mediator. He explained the other guy's situation. Marc thought that this Sonny guy was being rather protective of Will. As he found out more about Will he could understand why; especially since it was obvious that these two guys in front of him were heavily into each other, although they both seemed to not want to let the other one know.

Marc, in turn, explained that he had originally opted for Residence housing but opted out when he had thought he found a great apartment. But the apartment turned out to be roach invested. So, on the student housing waiting list he went. He also explained that he had an older brother who was gay, though he himself was not, so he had no problem rooming with a gay person. "I shared a room with a gay guy my entire life. Besides, you" and he looked at Will," look like you are taken" and he looked at Sonny. "So you won't be bothering with me". When Will and Sonny both had a mixture of embarrassment, surprise, eagerness, yearning and astonishment, and neither realized the other had the same face, Marc just laughed and muttered to himself "Oh this is going to be fun. "

Sonny and Will and a few others on the 18th floor helped Marc move in that morning. When Marc looked into the room and noticed which side Will's bed was on, having noticed where Floor Leader Sonny's room was, he snickered. "Yeah, I think this is the start of a very good year", he said out loud to no one in particular. He looked at Will who was busy putting boxes on the floor. "At least for somebody it is." And he shook his head and rolled his eyes and snickered.

Will's POV

Will could almost feel it when Sonny popped his head into his room, since the door was open. Sonny saw both new students looking busy at their respective laptops. "Hey guys. Just a reminder that all first-years are expected to take part in Frosh Week activities and they start in an hour. Be downstairs in the lobby by then okay?" Will looked up, smiled at Sonny and gestured for Sonny to join him at his laptop. Sonny approached him and hunched over Will, to get a better look at the screen. As a result he had put a hand on Will's shoulder. Will felt the hand and inwardly cried: "OMG! OMG!" But he outwardly tried to remain very calm, because he knew that if he reacted in any way, Sonny would take his hand away; and Will didn't want Sonny to do that. "Sonny, I'm trying to finalize my schedule. Could you help me with it?" Sonny looked at Will and said simply: "Sure" and put slightly more pressure on Will's shoulder, realized where his hand was, and pulled it away. "Damn", thought Will.

Sonny's POV

After Sonny removed his hand from Will's shoulder, he concentrated on what he saw on the screen. "As a first year, in your first term you really don't have much choice in the courses you have to take. So, what's the issue Will?" Will looked at Sonny:" Not courses really, just scheduling times, oh and there is this. And he pointed more precisely at the screen." And that is when Sonny noticed: DVM 1100 'Canada and the Challenges of International Development and Globalization' Assoiciate Professor D. Horvitz. And that is when Sonny understood what Will was trying to say. "I see Daniel is back in town. You should take his class Will. Take the one on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning. He's better in the morning." Will looked at him, with slight concern in his eyes. "Are you sure?" Sonny simply half-smiled at Will: "I'm sure. He's a good professor Will; knows his stuff. He's a lousy sort -of –almost-boyfriend, but a good professor." Sonny looked up after hearing a little smirky-giggle coming from in back of him. "Marc, it's a long story." Marc sobered at Sonny's tone." I'm sure it is" he said "and none of my business." Marc, went back to whatever he was doing. "Will, I'd take his class if I were you. If he tries to become too friendly with you, just come to me, and I'll help you deal with it." Sonny instinctively started to put his hand on Will's shoulder again, noticed what he was doing and pulled away.

Sonny's memory flashed to at the beginning of last year when he realized that Daniel was back at the University. Daniel was a last minute replacement lecturer of one of Sonny's core classes. Sonny was genuinely glad to see him and had wondered why Daniel never bothered to tell him that he was back. Sonny noticed that Daniel's look was not exactly welcoming when Daniel finally noticed Sonny sitting in the middle of the forth row of seats. Although it changed suddenly after a while, probably due to the fact that Sonny was staring at him, in that longed-to see-you kind of way. After class Sonny went up to Daniel and they chatted. Daniel invited Sonny for a drink later that evening. Sonny thought that, although Daniel was one of his Profs, they did have a prior relationship, so perhaps they could start over, or at least continue where they had to leave off. The student-Prof relationship ban might not apply in their case. It was that evening when Sonny first met Christopher. It was much later that Sonny realized Chris' relationship to Daniel and everything changed.

Marc's POV

"Pour l'amour du ciel!" thought Marc. He looked at Sonny's once-again-tentative attempt at closeness with Will and thought: "The electricity those two were producing was becoming untenable". He hadn't been around them very long but it was obvious to him and to most people on this floor, he had no doubt, that these two had an incredible attraction toward one another. Normally he would just stand up and say:" Get a room", or something equally cheeky, but from what he understood of Will's past and from what he was beginning to guess about Sonny's, that tactic would be the wrong thing to do. But he had to do something. For all he knew, the energy build-up from this room would cause some sort of Typhoon in the Orient, and he didn't want to be responsible for all those potential deaths.

Marc got up from his desk and went to the door and closed it. Then he walked closer to Sonny and Will and stated: "Guys, we need to talk." Both Sonny and Will looked up, slight concern on both their faces. Marc simply continued: "Look, I know that I haven't known either of you two very long. What? A few hours? And you both haven't known each other very long either. But, I need to show you both something." And before either Will or Sonny could react, Marc took Sonny's hand and placed it on Will's shoulder. Marc continued: "Sonny, Will is more than comfortable with you putting your hand on his shoulder, and probably on other things too. And Will, Sonny wants to be more than just friends. There. It's out in the open. And before you say anything, I agree you both have a right to progress at your own pace. But there is slow and then there is tectonic-plate-movement slow. I've been here only a few hours and people have already asked me if I were okay with my Floor Leader dating my roommate." Sonny was about to interject, "No Sonny, wait for it. I was told that if I weren't okay with it that they would find me a different floor. You're floor mates and your Deputy have already voted, it seems, and they are okay with the two of you. And so am I, by the way. I've been okay with it since I first saw you two sitting together in the Cafeteria. And I decided I would act now before someone comes to me and asks me to do exactly what I just did. And besides, I dislike typhoons immensely." Marc turned and opened the door. "Okay. That made me hungry, so I'm going to The Caf to get something to eat before whatever embarrassing Frosh Week thing I have to endure. See you two downstairs." And Marc left them alone.

WilSon's POV

Both Sonny and Will were in a state of shock by what just happened. "Typhoons?" they both asked in unison. As they both watched Marc leave the room, Sonny was about to take his hand off Will's shoulder, when Will put his own hand on Sonny's to stop him. "He's right Sonny" began Will, "I do like your hand on my shoulder. I'm not sure about the typhoon thing, but for the rest, Marc was dead-on." Will rose to his feet all the while keeping a hold on Sonny's hand. "Was he dead-on Sonny?" he asked with a sheepish grin coming across his face. Sonny also grinned, but there was also a slight bit of worry. "Yes", was all Sonny said. They stared into each other's eyes for a long moment. "Will, I know you have had a lot to deal with. And maybe we shouldn't push you too much." Will looked at Sonny, his blue eyes moistening , and said : "Sonny, bad things happen. They happened to me and they happened to you. I still have a lot of things to deal with. There will eventually be a trial, and I'm not sure how I'll handle that. All I know is, I know that I'll handle it better if I have you. Marc is right, let's stop being tectonic plates and start being.. Tortoises maybe? And Will's eyebrow went straight up, his face titled and his cutesy-face appeared and shone right through Sonny.

"Tortoises might be good." Said Sonny as both his hands including the one still in Will's went to Will's face. "I really like you Will, and I know it's only been three days but I think I am falling in love with you. Are you okay with that?" Will smiled and said: "More than I can say right now. And I think I am falling for you too." Sonny grinned even wider: "Will, I am going to kiss you." And he leaned forward and his lips tentatively touched Will's. Will's free hand shot up and tangled itself in Sonny's hair, pulling Sonny just that much closer. Sonny's tongue tentatively explored Will's lips, gently parting them and exploring the inner sanctum of Will's mouth. Both Will and Sonny were in what they both perceived as heaven.

Both pulled away slightly from each other, so they could catch their collective breath, and that is when they realized that a crowd had gathered in Will's doorway. Marc hadn't closed the door. Will's floor mates had gathered and were cheering and smiling. Some were whooping and whistling. Sonny turned towards the door. "Okay people, show's over. You're all causing a fire hazard, so move on," There were a few replies concerning where the fire was actually coming from, and then they dispersed, leaving Sonny and Will alone. Sonny looked at Will and said:" I suppose I'll have to teach Marc how to close a door", causing Will and the few floor mates remaining within earshot to laugh. Sonny then turned to Will and said: "Well Will, I suppose we should head down to the lobby" And they did so, hand-in-hand.


	9. Chapter 9

Wilson's POV

It was now 4:00 P.M. and Will and Sonny had been holding hands almost continuously for just over two hours now. That had not been Sonny's plan. He was supposed to be helping with the organization of the treasure hunt, not be an actual party in it. But, as had been the case for a lot of things in the last few days, things changed. Sonny recalled that when he and Will had reached the lobby, still holding hands, surrounded by a slew of Will's floor mates, practically cooing at both of them, he glimpsed his deputy floor leader and thought to himself: "Oh no. She's smiling. What is she up to?" Cheryl Pratt slinked up to Sonny and Will and before either one of them knew what was happening, they were handcuffed together. "Don't worry boys they don't actually lock." She pulled out a rolled up piece of old-looking paper and huffed herself up: "Hear Yea! Hear Yea! It has been decreed by the powers that be, that Sonny Kiriakis and William Robert Horton, as part of the treasure hunt, and for the duration thereof, be in continuous contact with one another! "She looked around, "Where's Marc?! Marc, t'es là?" She heard an :"Ici!" and Marc strode up alongside Will. "Good. Okay, it is proclaimed that Marc cannot be more than twenty feet away from Will, for the duration!" She lowered the parchment. She handed Will a twenty foot rope. :"This is for you and Marc." She then smiled, walked to Sonny and whispered to him:" Oh and congratulate him for me. I only hinted that he should encourage you two. I didn't think he could achieve results that fast." Sonny stared at Cheryl: "You put him up to that?" Cheryl stared back, "Never" she said deadpan. "The rest of you on Sonny's floors will find clues for places around the vicinity to visit and get vital information for the crossword which you will find in the grab-bag you will receive shortly. Also in the grab bag will be material that can be used to decorate your floor mascot, which of course is Will Horton here. Be respectful of his personal space or his attack dog might bite. "She indicated Sonny with a nod of her head in his direction. "Okay, let the treasure hunt begin!" And Cheryl was off to visit other teams.

Will's POV

Will couldn't believe it. Just a short time ago, he was kissing Sonny, something that came as a complete surprise to him, but a good surprise, a very good one; but yes, it was a scary one too. Now, he was shirtless, with a bunch of over-eager hands groping his torso and arms, putting red, white and blue horizontal stripes on him, and some weird design around his middle to 'enhance' his torso. The only good thing about this was that Sonny was going through the same thing, except he looked more like a psychedelic jail-guard. Part of the treasure hunt was to solicit for donations for the Free the Children. So someone, and Will suspected it was Marc, suggested they make a sign that stated: "Kisses for a Toonie to Free the Children." And place it in between Sonny and Will. Sonny had to explain that a Toonie was what Canadians called their two-dollar coin. Sometimes Canadians were strange.

WilSon's POV

First, the entire group scavenged for treasure around the university. They went to the Unicentre and roamed around the student lounge areas and the study rooms. In one of the lounge areas Will noticed a plaque on the far Wall that named this room the Kiriakis Lounge. Will, who was holding Sonny's hand at the time, squeezed just a little tighter. That got Sonny's attention. Will just nodded towards the plaque, smiled and kissed Sonny on the cheek. Marc noticed the kiss and stated: 'Hey! No freebies!"

The group also headed to the LGBT Student Centre, where they received a presentation on the Centre's mandate and an invitation to a gathering that would be happening the next day. The Centre existed mainly to promote tolerance and understanding of LGBT issues, but it also provided a safe place to hang out or to ask questions concerning safe sex and sexual orientation and gender identity issues of any sort. Sonny asked Will if he would like to come back and explore the space a little more, later, and Will said yes.

The scavenger hunt took the group outside of Campus. They went down a boulevard named King Edward and then a street named George, and were in the heart of the Byward Market. In their quest to raise money, many people stopped them and asked what the sign was about and the answer was portable kissing booth. Someone, again probably Marc, had made an impromptu sign: "Get a kiss from the Hottie. $2.00" Quite a few people along the way, mostly women but some men too, would ask who the Hottie was. The answer was inevitably: "You choose". And the choice was usually Will, but sometimes Sonny. After $300.00 worth of kisses, Will said: "You Canadians have no taste. I am not a Hottie." That, made everyone laugh. Sonny looked at Will and said: "You have no idea just how good looking you really are, do you? Inside and out." He then grabbed Will close and kissed him gently on the lips. The kiss became more heated. Both Will and Sonny forgot for a second with whom and where they were and lost themselves in each other, until they both came to their senses, most likely because of all the "whoooooo"s. A well-dressed woman, who was just finishing up buying some potatoes and carrots from one of the stalls, noticed the two young men kissing and noticed the sign, stepped forward and presented Marc, who was holding the money-can, with a $20.00 bill. When Marc asked who she thought the Hottie was, she said:" Oh, I don't need a kiss. The kiss I just witnessed was enough. Oh, and keep the change. And she winked at Will and Sonny, who ran up to her and pecked her on the opposite cheeks simultaneously.

Will's POV

The group was moving up George Street. Sonny had told Will that he wanted Will to see the American Embassy. It was just up the street on Sussex Drive. Sonny said that it kind of looked like a battleship. Will thought it would be cool. As they got nearer Will thought he recognized someone. "Looks like that guy Max from the other day", thought Will. And who was with him? "No. No! It couldn't be. Neil?" he thought and then Will yelled:" Neil!"

Will's memory flashed to that awful day, as had happened the first day he met Sonny and many other times before then. Neil and Will were sitting on a blanket on the grass near the edge of a waterfall, when all of a sudden a group of men appeared. Somehow they knew Will and Neil by name. They carried baseball bats. They were shouting obscenities, hurtful, awful names. And then Will saw Nick. Nick sneered at Will: "You are dirt. You are a disgrace to our families' names. I am ashamed to be related to you Will!" he shouted. "And You!", and he pointed ferociously at Neil, "You corrupted him!" Nick lunged at Neil. Neil was able to get to his feet, but stumbled when trying to avoid Nick's attack. He fell in front of the six intruders and they immediately pounced on him, kicking and punching him in the stomach, the back and face. Will was horrified: "Stop it! Stop it. Nick! Nick, tell them to stop! You're hurting him!" Nick simply stared at Will, hatred flowing across his face. "Why Will? Why should I tell them to stop?" And without really thinking about the consequences of what this could do, Will said: "Because I love him!" Nick became very cold and still: "That's not love Will. That's lust. He's corrupted you." And again, without thinking Will said: "Nick, We've only ever kissed." And Nick replied: "I'll teach you." As Nick approach Will, he heard Neil as he shout:" Don't hurt Will!" It was the last thing he heard Neil say.

Sonny's POV

Sonny felt a jolt as Will sprang forward. He and the rest of the group heard Will Shout: "Neil!" and then Will's head jolted suddenly, as if Will was reacting to being hit in the face. Sonny saw Will's knees buckle under him and before Will went down, like in the park, Sonny caught Will and held him tight. But unlike in the park, that did not pull Will out of wherever he had gone. Will kept on muttering: "Neil", over and over. Sonny glanced around to see what could have triggered this reaction. And that is when he saw Max and someone else walking up to them. Max had a smug look on his face. "Well. Hello Sonny. You're looking colourful today." Sonny did not know how, but he was sure that Max had something to do with what was happening to Will. Max looked at Will and then said: "Something wrong with the boy-toy?" Sonny was about to say something when he heard Will say " I've got this" in his ear, and Will's hand tightly squeezed his own.

Will's POV

Will felt the memory flash and then he felt Sonny's arms wrap around him, and that comforted him, but not enough. He felt so guilty about Neil. Will had strong feelings for Neil but they were being eclipsed by his feelings for Sonny, and Will felt guilty about that. Then, he heard Max talking. Will wasn't clear what Max said but it didn't matter. He knew what Max had done and he knew it was either to get back at Sonny, or at Will, or as a ploy to get Sonny back. It was probably all three. Will stiffened and straightened. He calmed down. He couldn't do anything for Neil. Not on that day and not now. But, he was not going to let anyone hurt Sonny. Not if he could help it. And if it meant exposing himself, in front of people, if it meant telling truths and maybe losing Sonny, then Will was determined to do it, for Sonny.

Will stood as straight and as tall as he could make himself, and whispered " I've got this" near Sonny's ear, as he squeezed Sonny's hand. He the spoke directly to Max: "You must be a good researcher", he said. Max looked perplexed and uttered "What?" Will repeated:" You must be a good researcher Max. I'll give you that, and resourceful too. To not only find someone that looks like Neil but to dress him up in the same clothes Neil wore on the day we were attacked. You should get extra credit for that." Max said: "I don't know what you are talking about pretty boy." But the grin that escaped Max's lips, said it all. "What did you do all this for, Max? Did you think I would break down and Sonny would see that I'm not over Neil and then Sonny would forget about me and go straight to you? Don't you think I've already told him about Neil? About that day? That I think it was my fault Neil got hurt? Did you want to know that Neil is still, at this very moment, while I'm walking around here having fun, Neil is in a hospital, in a coma. That he is only alive because of an injunction filed by his attacker's lawyers, so that he won't die while they are trying to get those bastards off for practically killing him? You want to know if I'm over Neil? Is that what you wanted to know Max? Well I'm not. I'll never be OVER Neil. Doesn't mean I can't go on with my life. Doesn't mean I can't live without Neil or find love even stronger than I had with him. Neil was my first love, not my last. Someone very special taught me that. Oh and by the way Max, you may come from money and judging by how much you've been acting like a spoiled brat, my guess is that you do. And since you are so fond of research, try researching the name Horton or better yet Kiriakis. You might want to stop with this whole harassment thing. You're getting way over your head. "

Sonny's POV

Sonny listened to Will talk to Max about Neil. Sonny had known that Will was conflicted about Neil. That is why Sonny had tried to be stand-offish with Will from the start. What Marc did this morning changed all that, but Sonny was still worried that Will would feel guilty, that he wasn't strong enough to deal with his feelings or deal with Sonny's feelings for him. Sonny was glad that he was wrong. He was glad, because if Will was strong enough to deal with his own issues then he was probably strong enough to deal with some of Sonny's. "And wait, did he just say he found a stronger love than Neil?" Sonny thought to himself. He looked at Max who seemed rather stunned. "Listen to the man Max, and leave." He then turned to Will and said: "You know that what happened to Neil wasn't your fault right?" and he heard Will tentatively say :"I know". Sonny continued: "And you know that what Max is doing isn't your fault either right?" Sonny heard a more convincing "I know". Sonny raised his hand, the one still gripping Will's and brought both hands to Will's lips and gently touched them with his fingers. "Good", he said. And that is when Marc came up to them both and said: "Now that the entertainment is leaving and before you guys start a five hour make-out session, can we go get something to eat? It says here, in my grab-bag, something about Beaver Tails? I'm hungry and it sounds delish." Sonny looked at Marc, looked at Will, gave Will a gentle peck, turned back to Marc and said: "You know they aren't from real beavers, right. " And Max said: "Shame" and the group went merrily off in search of beaver tails, with Sonny and Will still holding hands.


	10. Chapter 10

Will's POV

Will's first class began at 8:00 a.m. on the day after Labour Day, which was a Tuesday. The Class was in the Desmarais Building, DVM 1100 with prof. D Horvitz. It was just a ten minute walk from his room to the classroom, but he had arrived fifteen minutes early in order to get a good seat. He had been warned that first year classes could be quite large, and crowded. He arrived and got a seat in the middle of this large amphitheatre type room, and was quickly surrounded by fellow students. He didn't know anyone and it seemed as if everyone else was being as shy about introducing themselves as he was, so he just settled in his chair and thought about his life in Ottawa so far. His thoughts lingered to his time alone with Sonny the night before.

After the treasure hunt, and the supper, and after the other activities including the dance, and the awarding of prizes including the Fundraising trophy to the 17-18 Stanton team, the shower and the dip in the pool, Will and Marc were in their room talking. Will couldn't believe how accepting Marc was and that, in the space of only a few hours, they had not only become friends but practically brothers. "Although", Will thought to himself, "things have been going pretty fast on a lot of fronts lately." And after the conversation went from comparing histories to the What-are-you-going-to-be-in-five-years game, Marc steered the conversation to just that very topic. "So Will, things have been going rather fast for you lately. I mean, I don't wish to pry, or interfere, and I like Sonny a lot. But, are you sure you aren't progressing a bit too fast?" And that's when Will and Marc both heard. "Marc, that is a good question but don't you think Will and I should be the ones discussing that?" Will looked towards the open doorway and found Sonny peeking through it, and smiling. Will thought: "Maybe it is time to learn to close doors." Max said to Sonny: "Sorry Sonny. Me. Prying. Not." And Sonny simply replied: "Marc, it's a legitimate question; one that I'm dying to know the answer to. And I promise you that Will, or I, will keep you in the loop; since you basically were the one to speed us along in the first place." And then Sonny smiled that big, warm smile that Will felt he could just drown in. "Will, I know it's getting late, but could you join me in my room, just for a second, please?" And so he did.

_Will was interrupted from his reverie by whispering, some rustling in the front and a rather good looking man in his early thirties walking to the podium in the front of the class. Will could visibly hear intakes of breath, mostly coming for the young ladies in the room. Will, must admit that Daniel Horvitz was rather good-looking: chiselled facial features, a body you could tell was muscular even through his loose dress shirt. And based on the cooing going on around him Prof. Horvitz was very charismatic. The professor launched into a spiel concerning his career, which was almost word for word the same spiel he had heard from Sonny, so Will drifted off into memory-land once more._

_Will followed Sonny into his Floor Leader's lounge; Sonny indicated that Will should take a seat on the couch while Sonny closed the door. As Will sat down, he thought over what he was going to say to Sonny. He knew what Sonny wanted to talk to him about and he was both excited about it and dreading it at the same time. Sonny joined Will on the couch. Will was at one end and Sonny was on the other. They looked at each other for a moment. Then Sonny said: "Will, I had a great time holding your hand today." Sonny smiled, and a twinkle in his eyes suggested that he enjoyed more than just holding Will's hand. "And I must tell you how proud I am at how you handled Max and all the rest of it. I hope you aren't overwhelmed, because, truthfully, I think I would be if I were in your shoes." Tears started forming in Will's eyes. Sonny was proud of him. Only a few people have made him feel this special, in fact really only two: one was his Grandma Marlena, and the other was Neil. Sonny continued: "Will, you said something today, something to Max. And I would like you to clarify it.", and something in Sonny's tone told Will it was far more than clarification that Sonny wanted. Will supposed that something in his own eyes betrayed his insecurities, because Sonny continued:" Will, when you confronted Max, when you talked about Neil", Will interrupted:" Sonny. Please understand. I loved Neil. He helped me accept myself for who I am. But I have to tell you the truth. If, by a miracle, Neil woke up suddenly, I would be torn. From the moment I saw you, I felt so guilty, because I knew that I was finally home. Does that make sense to you? Sonny, I…I " _

_Will was again jolted out of daydreaming. Sonny had warned Will that the professor liked to ask a question and then direct the question towards someone who the professor felt was the smartest, or more likely the prettier of his students. Will was extremely surprised that the question seemed to be directed at him. He looked around just to make sure. He saw the professor smile: "Yes, the question was directed at you young man. Would you like me to repeat it?" Will nodded." What would be a challenge to a Canadian in regards to International Development and/or Globalization? Will frowned. He knew, from Sonny that whatever answer he gave, it would be torn apart. He tried to look thoughtful and then said: "Sir, it would be presumptuous for me to answer since I am an American and I've only lived in Canada for the last four days." The professor looked at Will and said simply: "Fair enough." And then he smiled and proceeded to ask a rather studious looking young lady the same question. Unfortunately for that young lady, she did not get the memo, and proceeded to expound laboriously of the topic. Will couldn't help himself. His mind wondered and he was back to Sonny and his conversation with Will._

_Sonny suddenly moved closer to Will, put one hand on Will's thigh and used his other hand to caress Will's face. "I know what you are going to say. And it makes me really happy, Will. I love you too. And I understand how you feel. It seems impossible, but I can't deny the feelings I have for you; that I have had from the very beginning, any more than you could, when you confronted Max." Will was ecstatic to hear that. He was afraid that Sonny didn't have the same intensity of feelings for him as he had for Sonny. But Sonny did. Something stirred in Will and he jerked forward grabbed at Sonny's hair and kissed Sonny on the lips with such fervour that it caused Sonny to fall backwards._

_Will was jerked out his daydream by prof. Horvitz saying: "Alright class, that's enough for today. You have your handouts, lecture notes and a list of reading material and textbooks to purchase, so I suggest you go ahead and do that." Will went up to leave and was stopped by prof. Horvitz walking up to him. "And here we go", thought Will. "So you are an American? And what's your name so I don't have to keep calling you 'Hey You'." Will smiled, as non-committal a smile as he possibly could. "I'm Will Horton, sir." And Daniel Horvitz tried to put on the charm. " Well Will, on one of the hand-outs are my office hours, if you need any extra tutoring, in order to get the Canadian perspective, please feel free to call the office and we can set an appointment." Will simply said: "Well thank you sir", and as he backed away and headed for the door he heard the professor say: "Mr. Kenney, I'd like a word"._

_Will texted Marc and Sonny saying classes let out early and that he would head to the University Bookstore. Marc texted back: "Sill in class." And Sonny texted:" I'm close to Desmarais ATM. Meet you in 5." Will took a seat on one of the benches and waited for Sonny, and his mind wandered yet again._

_Will kissed Sonny with a passion and intensity that he had never, in his entire life, had ever felt before. Sonny responded in kind. Will, who was now straddling Sonny, who was now lying on his back, started to remove his T-shirt. His actions were stopped by two strong hands pulling his t-shirt back down. Will looked bewildered and dejected, for just a split second. "Will, stop. Please stop just for a second."_

Will looked at Sonny. Sonny's eyes were filled with love and need and want, but also a little concern. Will's voice was filled with anxiety and he pleaded: "I want you Sonny. Please, can we do this?" Sonny's arms still held Will back. "Will, I want you so bad, I think you can feel how much I want you. But this is too far, too fast. You should see yourself Will, your eyes looked crazed; you're fighting something. What is it?" Will stopped struggling, turned his head and tears started streaming down his face. Sonny grabbed Will and pulled Will toward him. With one hand on the back of Will's head he guided it to his chest. "I'm sorry Sonny, I'm so sorry. I wasn't trying to use you. It's just…" And Will sobbed some more.

After a while, Will's sobs subsided, primarily because Sonny was "shhh"ing in his ear and saying: "It's okay Will." Will propped himself up in his elbows, looked Sonny in the eyes and said: "Sonny, every time I close my eyes I get an image in my head of Nick, and what he did to me. I don't want to be scared anymore. And I want to be able to close my eyes and only think of you." Sonny smiled and said: "I know Will. And I promise to help you with that. I just want to go slow, because I don't want to scare you off. I am in this for the long haul Will. We will work at this together, but not today." Sonny took Will's head in his hands and guided Will's lips towards his own and gently kissed him. Will then laid his head back on Sonny's chest and sighed deeply.

When Will returned to his room, Marc was in bed, the light still on, reading a book. As Will closed the door, Marc went up to him, hugged him and started to look him over. Will pulled back and asked with indignant curiosity: "Marc, what are you doing? Marc looked at Will and said cheekily: "Looking for hickies" Will rushed to his bed, grabbed a pillow and swung it towards Marc's middle, who started to laugh hysterically. Will rolled his eyes and said: "Bonne nuit Marc."

A gentle pressure on his shoulder awoke Will from his daydream. It was Sonny, who smiled and said: "What are you smiling about Will?" Will got up from his seat, turned towards Sonny and said: "yesterday." Will then leaned forward and gave Sonny a gentle kiss. Will and Sonny then heard from beside them: "I see the two American boys found each other." Sonny frowned, turned and said:" Hello Daniel"


	11. Chapter 11

Sonny's POV

Sonny had been dreading this moment. He thought he had timed it so that he would miss Daniel Horvitz, but apparently he had misjudged. He also had planned to downplay his relationship with Will in front of David, in order to contain David's reaction. Will's impromptu and seriously sexy kiss, in the lobby of the Desmarais Building, in front of David, no less, had changed all that. "Oh well" thought Sonny "Change of plans". He smiled the most cordially friendly smile that he could muster at that moment, put his arm around Will, who seemed a little unsure of what he was supposed to do, but compensated by leaning sexily into Sonny. "Lord, Will feels so nice", thought Sonny, and he unconsciously pulled Will just a little bit closer. "Hello Daniel. I take it you've already met my boyfriend. He's actually from my hometown of Salem." He looked at David to try and judge his reaction. He seemed fine. He glanced at Will whose smile was beaming from ear to ear. It then occurred to Sonny that he had just called Will his boyfriend for the very first time; and it felt really good. David smiled back: "Well, at least this confirms my gaydar." He looked at Will and continued: "You are far too beautiful to be straight.", and a slight look of lusty hunger escaped his control and rolled across his face. "Now THAT is a David look I can recognize", thought Sonny. Sonny had seen that look a few times before, in Uganda, and especially on the night he went out for a drink with the professor on the evening of Sonny's first class with him, the evening he met Chris.

Sonny remembered that it was a rather cool-ish but nice evening, and he had made arrangements to meet Daniel at The Lookout, one of the iconic Ottawa gay bars located in the Byward Market. Daniel told Sonny that there was no sign to indicate where the bar was, but you couldn't miss it. It was located in the only building on York Street that had a balcony in the front. Sonny went to the back of the building, opened the door and went up the stairs to the second floor. He walked in the bar entrance, glanced to his left where the bar was located and sitting at the far end was Daniel. Sonny sat in the seat next to Daniel; Daniel turned and smiled at Sonny, a rather lust-hungry smile that made Sonny feel a bit uncomfortable and a bit flattered at the same time. He then introduced Sonny to a rather good-looking guy that was standing beside him. Sonny was enamored with this ginger-haired, muscular, demi-god of a hunk. Chris was gorgeous, exhibited an acute intelligence, and was funny and attentive; and all this from the very first minute. Sonny was a little shy at first, seeing as he had gone to the bar to see Daniel. But, Daniel seemed very pleased. He explained to Sonny that the fact that Sonny was a student of his was a complication and that he wanted Sonny to meet someone whom Daniel thought would be a good match for him. This seemed reasonable to Sonny. However, later on, Sonny would think back and realize that Daniel seemed a little too pleased. Also, later on, Sonny would recognize that Daniel was looking at Chris the same way that Sonny noticed Daniel looking at him. But that was later; in fact, it was about ten dates with Chris later.

Sonny shook his head, as though he needed to shake off the memory, and replied to Daniel's lusty comment: "Will is kind of cute isn't he. I like him." And he turned towards Will and with his free hand briefly touched Will's face. Will smiled at Sonny, forgetting that Daniel was staring at them both, and he leaned in and gave Sonny another kiss. Daniel seemed intrigued by this, if not out-and-out tuned on by it."You must not have known each other very long. You seem to be in the early honeymoon phase." Will responded by looking towards his professor and said: "Four days, sir. Four very good days." Daniel looked at Will and then Sonny and decided to appear to change the subject by saying to Sonny: 'I heard you had a good time in Ecuador. You did good work there, or so I'm told, except for that little spot of trouble; must have been quite shocking for you." Sonny replied as even-tempered as he could, after having registered that Daniel Horvitz was keeping tabs on him: "I had a good time." Inwardly though, he thought: "Shocking? Coming from you that's a switch", and again he remembered.

Sonny had been seeing Chris on a regular basis for two months and things were progressing quite nicely. They had drinks together, went out to dinner. And then Chris started hanging out in Sonny's dorm room. They went to the movies, went out on dates with each other's friends. Sonny would recollect later that Chris would push Sonny to be more and more physical. Not that Sonny was complaining at the time. Then Chris invited Sonny over to his apartment for a date: Dinner for two. Sonny hoped and was anticipating that things would progress even more that night and that they would finally have some real alone time to explore each other. He had never been to Chris' apartment so when he arrived at the apartment on Templeton Street near Strathcona Park, it seemed to Sonny to be more than a student could afford, even if Chris was doing a PhD in Bio-chemistry and was working in a lab. When Sonny arrived at the apartment, he was greeted by Chris who kissed him and said that he had a surprise for him in the bedroom. Although Sonny was looking forward to seeing the bedroom he did find it a bit odd that Chris wanted to skip the pleasantries, like eating a meal and talking. But he went with the flow, as they say. When Sonny got to the bedroom he looked towards the bed and there was Daniel, laying on the bed in all his naked splendour. Needless to say, Sonny was a bit shocked. And needless to say he tried to leave straight away but was blocked by Chris, who explained that he and Daniel were in a relationship and that they were looking to expand it. Expand it were his exact words. And since Sonny was obviously attracted to Daniel and to Chris, they thought Sonny would be a good mix. Sonny was more than a little shocked, and felt more than a little betrayed. He had started this relationship with Chris in good faith. And maybe for some a more than monogamous relationship was appropriate, and under the right circumstances it might even had been right for Sonny, however Sonny felt more than a little manipulated to have this sprung on him like this. When Sonny refused and accused them both of manipulation, Daniel went on the attack accusing Sonny of using him to get into U of O. Chris tried to mediate, saying they all should just calm down, and maybe use this opportunity to just have a bit of fun. Sonny left the apartment as quickly as he could. He contemplated going to Daniel's superiors, or to the Dean of Student's or even the Student's Association, but decided against it. It was his word against Daniel's and Sonny wasn't sure if Daniel had anticipated Sonny's reaction and put road blocks in place. Sonny transferred out of Daniel's class and tried to keep his distance. It wasn't easy.

Again Sonny shook away the memory. He knew that Daniel was baiting him. He did not want to rise to it. He simply said: "By the way Daniel, how's Chris." Daniel looked nonplussed. "My husband is great Sonny. Thanks for asking. I'll be sure to tell him you said hi." Daniel went to leave and then stopped to say: "Oh Sonny, as you know there is a formal gathering for the senior Students in the Honours program and those taking Post grad studies. You aren't eligible to come this year seeing as you are only in third year. But Chris and I will be hosting a party beforehand. You are welcome to come. It will be in two weeks. Bring Will here, if you are still together." He nodded to Sonny, turned his attention to Will and said: "Actually Will, if you have to, come on your own. You'll be most welcome. I will see you on Thursday." And off Daniel went.

Sonny watched Daniel leave the Desmarais Building and turned to Will. "I'm sorry about that Will. My timing was off. Or maybe I wasn't thinking. I guess I just wanted to see you too badly that I forgot where I would be heading. Will looked at Sonny and smiled: "Sonny, it's okay. I'm glad you were here and I'm glad you warned me about him." Sonny frowned, lifted one of his fingers and flicked Will's lower lip gently, as he said: "Will, I just don't want him to think he can get at me through you." Will cocked his head, smiled and said: "I'm not worried Sonny. I'm just glad I found you. And maybe a foursome could be fun if it all comes down to that. That is , if we are still together in two weeks". Will laughed and tried to get away from the anticipated slap on the buttocks, but didn't quite make it. Will spun around" I love you." They both said simultaneously; and they left hand-in-hand towards the Bookstore.


	12. Chapter 12

Sonny's POV

Sonny and Will walked to the UniCentre where the main university bookstore was located. Will bought the books from his list as well as some school supplies. Sonny suggested that they take this opportunity, since Sonny had a little time before his first class of the semester and Will didn't have a class till 11:30, to drop in to the LGBT Centre and have a more extensive look around. Sonny had a few friends there. He even volunteered a few times and helped with certain events; although this year, as a floor leader, he had a lot on his plate. He thought that maybe Will would enjoy the opportunity to help. Since this was the first day of class, of the first week of the new semester, and an enormous amount of new students are always expected in September, various clubs and organizations set up kiosks around the Atrium of the first floor of the UniCentre. They ranged from music and chess clubs to theatre and electronic clubs, political and religious organizations of all types. One of these clubs was the Christian Students Alliance. As Will and Sonny passed by their kiosk which was near the LGBT Centre, one of the volunteers went up to Will and said: "Hello William, you don't know me but a member of our organization has asked us to pray for you. We only hope that you can come back to Jesus and stop your unfortunate sinful behaviour." Will looked at Sonny and then towards the student and asked a bit anxiously: "How do you know me?" The student continued to smile and replied: "We were given a photo. This is you, is it not?" She proceeded to show Will a photo used in one of the articles from the Salem Herald. Sonny took the article and decided to take control of this situation. He could see Will becoming agitated and he didn't want Will to lose his temper, or worse. If that happened, then whoever did this would have won. He looked at Will with so much compassion and love that Will was instantly calmed. He said to Will: "Let me handle this, Babe." And then turned to the student, who was slightly taken aback, and said curtly: "Pardon me for asking, but what sinful behaviour was Will supposed to have unfortunately done? And why is it any business of yours?" The student simply smiled and said: "We were simply asked to help him walk away from the homosexual lifestyle. We were given to understand that at one point he himself desired it?" She looked at Will and said: "Please just read this, preferably when you're alone and away from any undue influence." And she looked at Sonny and scowled" She handed Will an envelope. Will took it. His hands were trembling. Sonny could see that Will was desperately trying to contain his emotions. And then he realized what was wrong. Will had told him that Will had expressed his desire to not be gay in front of emergency responders and journalists, immediately after the assault. His statements were printed in several papers and one editorial actually suggested that perhaps this meant that rape might be an effective treatment for homosexuality. That particular editorialist was consequently fired. Sonny realized what this letter may contain but he decided Will should be the one to decide whether or not to read it. Sonny was determined to be there, regardless of being an undue influence or not. He also turned to the student and said as deadpan as he could: "You can't rape away the gay." Sonny then led Will away from the kiosks into the relative comfort of the LGBT Centre. He looked back at the student who seemed rather mortified about what Sonny just said, and Sonny thought: "Good"

Will's POV

Will was visibly shaken by the episode with the Christian fundamentalist. She wasn't the first one with whom he had to deal, and he knew she wouldn't be the last. But he had come to Canada to get away from this kind of attitude and it was a shock to him that he still had to deal with this kind of thing. Although the up side, Will supposed, was that at least she was way more polite about it.

Sonny showed Will to the lounge and introduced him to several nice people. Some were volunteers to the gay help line that the student federation subsidized, others were student activists. There was one person in particular that Sonny introduced that came as a bit of a shock. He was a member of the School of psychology who specialized in trauma therapy among the LGBT community. As it turns out he was the same person that his Grandma Marlena had recommended for him, and his name was Marcel Pinnot. He had an appointment with him Friday morning, and was thankful that he had this opportunity for introduction. Sonny casually mentioned the letter given to Will. And Dr. Pinnot asked if Will would be comfortable in opening and reading the letter right then. Dr. Pinnot was of the opinion that if the letter contained anything that the university, campus security or even local police would be interested in, then perhaps it would be better to deal with it right away. And so, Will opened the letter and handed it to Sonny who read it aloud:

"Dear William, God wants you to come away from the path you have chosen. He chose to punish you to show you that homosexuality is brutal and without morals Please heed his call and repent your sins or you will be subject to a life of loneliness and eternal damnation thereafter. Your teacher. Nick"

Sonny almost lost control:" That son-a-of-bitch! How the hell did he send you this?" Will simply stated: "He didn't He would never have called me William. It would have been Will or if he wanted to be condescending, Willy. By the way Sonny, don't ever call me that." Will briefly smiled but went into a slight funk afterward.

Dr. Pinnot tried to remain clinical and stated: "We should send this to the University Administration although there isn't anything here that is physically threatening." Sonny interjected:" I will also write a note. This has a familiar tone to it." One of the activists stated:" At least he said please."

Although Sonny had to leave to get ready for a class, Will decided to stay for a little longer. It was a very welcoming space.

Sonny's POV

Sonny was relaxing in the floor lounge with Will, Marc and a few others. It was now 20:30. Will and Marc and Sonny had gone to the main Cafeteria to get food and brought it to the floor lounge to eat. They played some Wii Just Dance, where Marc did his rendition of "a love sick duck dying of consumption", as he put it. They also played some guitar hero and watched a rerun episode of Downton Abbey. For most of the evening Sonny and will shared a part of the couch. They sprawled together, feeling at ease with each other and in front of others, sometimes simply holding hands. And like the first day they kissed, they were always connected in some way. After Downton, Sonny stood up smiled and nodded to Will who stood up in his turn. As both started to leave hand-in-hand, Marc shot up, went to Will and whispered: "So, I'll be on hickie watch again". Will simply gave him a shot in the arm. And both Sonny and Will walked to Sonny's room.

Sonny's POV

Sonny opened the door to his floor leader's lounge. Will went to sit on the couch; however, he was stopped by Sonny's gentle tug. Sonny then went to the door to his private room, opened it, and gestured for Will to enter. Sonny gestured for Will to sit on the bed, as he closed the door. He noticed that Will looked a little nervous. Although both Sonny and Will knew that eventually they would both probably end the night in Sonny's room tonight, they had not discussed beforehand what each other's expectations were. Sonny walked calmly to Will, and sat down beside him. Before Will could do or say anything, Sonny lifted a finger to Will's lips and gently said: "Remember when I said that we would take it slow?" and Will Nodded. "Well Will, with all that you have been through, I know that sometimes you feel that you aren't in control. And tonight I want you to feel that. I want you to feel what it's like when two people are in control, together. Sonny then asked Will to unbutton Sonny's shirt, slowly. Will complied. Once the shirt was off, Will went to touch Sonny's muscular chest. Sonny gently intercepted Will's exploring hand and said: "Will, please ask first." He then smiled, a loving, genuine, utterly sexy smile that made Will crane his head to one side and an eyebrow involuntarily jolted to his hairline. Will's eyes were full of want and need. He smiled and asked: "Sonny, can I touch you?" Sonny asked: "Where?" ", and Will pointed downward, and smiled a wickedly sexy smile.

Sonny simply said: "Slow, Will. We are going slowly, remember? Think tortoises" and he smiled. Will said huskily: "Your chest then." And Sonny nodded. Will brought a hand to Sonny's chest and started to gently caress it. Sonny asked Will: "Can I guide your hand?" Will nodded. Sonny gently took hold of Will's hand and guided it all over his chest, pausing at his pecks, on his sides, and to his nipples, where Will gently used his fingers to tweak them, one and then the other, while Sonny involuntarily purred. Sonny then asked Will if he could unbutton Will's shirt, and Will said: "Please" And Sonny did so. After his shirt was off, and Sonny took the time to admire Will's exquisitely sculpted muscles, Will took Sonny's hand without saying a word, but his eyes were pleading. Sonny smiled and let his hand be guided in almost the exact way that he had guided Will's. While Will still had a hold of Sonny's hand on his chest, Will leaned forward, looked greedily into Sonny's eyes and said:" Sonny, I love you. And I want you so much. I am going to kiss you. "

Sonny felt that it was good turn-around fair-play, since their first kiss was initiated by Sonny. He looked at Will and said simply:" Please." Will leaned in closer. His lips gently touched Sonny's, then Will put more pressure, and then even more. Sonny responded by starting a gentle humming in his throat. Will's tongue sprang out, ready to explore and parted Sonny's lips. For the longest time their tongues did a mutually satisfying tango. Sometimes led by Will and other times led by Sonny. Sonny could feel himself wanting Will more and could feel Will wanting the same. But restraint here was essential. He heard Will moan, and while still in the kiss Sonny opened his eyes. He could see Will beginning to struggle. Sonny interrupted the kiss. Will's eyes shot open. "Will, what were you seeing?" Will simply stuttered, as he closed his eyes and grimaced. Sonny took Will's chin gently by a few fingers of one hand and said: "Will I am going to kiss you and we both will keep our eyes open. Okay?" Will nodded. And Sonny kissed Will tenderly and gently, and then with more strength and vigour. Between kisses Sonny asked: "Will, what do you see?" And Will replied. "You, Sonny, I see you. Only you."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the outside door. Sonny thought" Damn!" and out loud he simply shouted, a little too forcefully: "Go away!" and he heard through both doors. "Sonny, it's Marc." Sonny guessed that Marc would not be interrupting Sonny and Will if it weren't extremely important, and said: "Marc, come in, that door isn't locked. I'll be right out." As Marc opened the outer door and came inside, Sonny heard more clearly. "Will too." Both Sonny and Will's expressions turned to slight concern while they busily put their shirts on." Before Sonny opened the door to his bedroom, Will gently grabbed his elbow and said: "Thank You" and gave Sonny a peck on the cheek.

Marc's POV

Marc was pacing awkwardly around the lounge when Sonny and Will emerged from Sonny's private area. He couldn't help himself. As he had done previously, he jokingly looked Will over. Will noticed, shook his head and mouthed: "No Hickies. Yet" Marc couldn't help but smile at the "Yet" and the frown that came with it. He heard Sonny say: "Marc, no offense but this better be good." And Marc nodded, turned to Will and began: "I went studying in my room after you two left and there was a pinging noise coming from one of your laptops. I tried to ignore it, but then Your Ipad started pinging, and then your phone. So I went to your laptop and FaceBook was open. There was a message. It just said: Call me. Urgent." Marc noticed Will getting slightly upset and heard him say: "Who was it from? My Grandmother?" And Marc said: "No, The message said Kiriakis. I think it was coming from Sonny's Dad." And with that all three left Sonny's room and headed to Will's.


	13. Chapter 13

Marc's POV

Will, Sonny and Marc went into Marc's room as quickly as they could. Will went directly to his computer. Marc saw that Will was not as anxious as Marc thought that he might be when he had first decided to interrupt Sonny and Will's alone time. "So things in the alone-together front must be going well", he thought. He did notice that both Sonny and Will's shirts were slightly bedraggled. Depending on whom Will communicates with and how observant that person is, this may be interesting. And then Marc smiled to himself.

Will's POV

Will looked and his FaceBook, Skype on his iPad and then his phone. Sure enough all the messages were from Justin Kiriakis, as he suspected. He wondered what Mr. Kiriakis could possibly have wanted with him at this hour. He grabbed his iPad and tried to ping Mr. Kiriakis. Sure enough Justin answered. "Hello Mr. Kiriakis" said Will. "It appears that you have been trying to get in touch with me. Is anything wrong?" Justin seemed calm to Will, but Justin always seemed calm. "Finally Will, and yes I was. I was going to start contacting Sonny in a few minutes hoping you may be hanging out together". Will heard a not-very-successful-attempt at a muffled "Ha" coming from Marc. He looked back at Marc, with a look of what he hoped was interpreted as extreme irritation, although he was only mildly so. "With any luck Mr. Kiriakis won't have heard him", thought Will. And of course Justin had heard a noise. "Who's that with you Will? Is Sonny there?" Will, felt a little embarrassed, although part of him wondered why he felt that way. "Must be because up until a few minutes ago you were making-out with this man's son", thought Will. "Yes, Mr. Kiriakis .He's here would you like to say hi?" And before Justin could answer Will handed the iPad to Sonny.

Sonny's POV

Sonny heard his father say "Who's that with you Will? Is Sonny there?" He glanced daggers at Marc and almost dropped the iPad when Will handed it to him, very abruptly. He recovered nicely though, at least he hoped he did: "Hey Dad. How y'a doing? " Sonny could see the cogs in his father's brain turning, miles a minute, and registering something. Justin smiled at his son. Sonny hoped for his sake and Will's that his father, if he said anything, it would be diplomatic. "Son, I'm glad to see you and Will are…" Sonny gave his father a pleading look. "Please Dad, Dad, don't say it", Sonny pleaded silently to his father. "friendly?"concluded Justin. Sonny heard an even less refrained guffaw from Marc. "Okay Son. That's obviously not you or Will." Sonny looked away from his dad towards Marc as he stated: "It's Will's roommate Dad. Here's Will again." Sonny handed the iPad to Will.

Will's POV

Will was embarrassed as hell. Marc was definitely NOT helping. "Hello again, sir, the noisy person is my roommate Marc. He, Sonny and I are the only three in the room. So, you were saying?" Justin looked at Will and, although he didn't want to embarrass his son or Will even more said: "Will, um, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that your Grandmother Marlena is also here." "Grandma Marlena?" Thought Will. And in a panic Will let everything out: "Okay…Okay. Sonny and I are dating. In fact, we're more than just dating. I love Sonny and Sonny loves me. And I know it hasn't been that long since we met. But it's a fact and it will not change. And I will always love Neil, Grandma, and Sonny knows this, and my love for Sonny isn't the same and...did Dr. Pinnot tell you all this? Is this why you are calling? Anyway, It's Marc's fault! It is! He's the one that didn't want us to be tectonic plates because he was afraid of typhoons! And no, I don't know why! I just don't know!" Will suddenly stopped talking because of Sonny's calming presence behind him, and a shushing in his ear. Then he heard all the laughter coming from all sides of him, including Marlena and Justin via the iPad, but especially, ESPECIALLY, Marc.

Sonny's POV

"Lord. Poor Will, he's just babbling. ", thought Sonny. He wished he could find a way to help him. And then he decided the best thing to do was to just go up to him and hug him from behind, and so he did just that. He felt Will instantly calm himself. He heard the laughter coming from his dad and Will's grandmother, and of course from Marc. Sonny glared at Marc who simply put his hands in the air as supplication, but still continued laughing. Sonny turned his attention to the iPad in Will's hands and said: "Hello Dr. Evans. Dad, you wanted to speak to Will for…?" He cocked his head and left the questioning inflection hanging for a minute. He hoped this would get the conversation back on track. It did. Justin looked thoughtful and said: "Will, I have news about your case. You might want to take yourself somewhere where we can talk privately." He felt Will stiffen a little in his arms and hugged him even more tightly.

Will's POV

Will looked around and saw Marc, suddenly sober up. He also felt Sonny's strong arms tighten around him. Whatever it was that was so urgent, Will did not think he could face it alone. "Mr. Kiriakis, whatever it is you have to say, I want Sonny here to hear it. And as for Marc..." and Will looked directly at Marc who straightened up and was about to get ready to leave the room, "He is my roommate. He already knows most of what happened to me. So, if we don't go into too much detail about… certain things… I'd like him to hear this too, whatever it is." Will could see through the iPad screen that Justin understood. He physically adjusted himself in his seat and drew his grandmother closer into view. Justin stated: "Okay Will. The reason why I'm calling is that the district attorney has asked me to inform you of certain developments." Justin waited to judge Will's reaction and, seeing that it was safe to continue, did so: "Will, the lawyers for the accused in your case and in Neil's, attempted to get an extension to their injunction concerning Neil's family's request to terminate life support. The extension was denied, Will"

Will could feel his body go numb. "Denied? What does that mean? When do they turn off the machines? I need to go see him!" Justin answered: "Will, it's happened already." Will felt his strength evaporate. Luckily, Sonny took a hold of the iPad, or it would have fallen.

Sonny's POV

Sonny saw the look in his father's eyes before the words "it's happened already" came out of Justin's mouth. "Thank God I'm already near him", he thought as he instantly grabbed for Will's arms, and as a consequence the iPad, before it toppled to the ground. Sonny heard Dr. Evans say to Will: "Will honey, it happened really fast. Once the injunction was lifted, the family and his doctors wanted to release Neil from his burdens before the lawyers could find another way to stall the inevitable." Sonny felt Will straighten, his muscles hardening. The iPad was suddenly out of his hands and Will was out of his arms.

Will's POV

Will grabbed the iPad from Sonny, and pushed himself away. He regretted not being in physical contact with Sonny anymore but in the moment, it is what he thought he deserved. He looked into the iPad screen, tears beginning to form in his eyes. And he began to speak, his voice breaking: "Grandma, I know and you both know that they didn't tell me because Neil's parents think it was my fault and they were right. Neil would be alive today, and unhurt if it weren't for me! It was my fault! I killed Neil!" And Will's knees gave way and he went down to the floor, the iPad promptly sliding on the carpeted floor as Will remembered.

Will sat in his wheelchair as his mother wheeled him towards where Neil lay in a bed in the ICU . Will had been bedridden for two days while test after test was conducted, uniformed officers and police detectives, most of whom were related to Will in one way of the other had come and gone, asking question after question. Quite a few questions were very curt and leading, considering Nick Fallon, the more favoured relation, in comparison to Will, was the one being accused. No one wanted to believe him. After all, it was the word of a "gay boy" against a god-fearing heterosexual member of the family.

When Will saw Neil, he could barely hang on. Neil looked terrible, hooked up to machines, his face barely recognizable. Although Will's facial features hadn't fared any better. But Will was conscious. Neil was not. And then Neil's parents walked in the room. "How dare you show up here! Neil's father had said to Will. Mr. Hulgrin looked at Sami and shouted: "I expressly forbade this person to be allowed near my son! Get him out of here." And Will was wheeled away as quickly as Sami could manage. The last thing Will heard was Mr. Hulgrin yelling: "You caused this! This is all your fault!" And Will believed him. He rose out of his reverie to realize that he was muttering: "I don't deserve to be loved" to himself.

Marc's POV

The iPad slid in Marc's direction. He picked it up and was immediately confronted with two people who were obviously in distress about Will's reaction. "I'll give the iPad back to Will. He's okay. He's just on the floor. I think he's crying." Marc heard Justin say: "Please do. Will needs to know the whole story." Marc stepped forward towards Will to attempt to give the iPad back to him. He heard Sonny say: "Marc, please let me do this" He handed the iPad to Sonny, and then glanced towards the door. "Thank God I learned how to close a door", he thought.

Sonny's POV

Sonny took the iPad , looked at the screen, saw his father and Dr. Evans with rather worried looks on their respective faces and simply said: "Hold on. I've got this." He walked over to Will who was in the midst of saying: "I don't deserve to be loved." And Sonny simply said: "Tough". That did the trick. Will looked up at Sonny and very audibly said: "What did you say?" And Sonny elaborated: "I said tough, Will. It's too bad and it's too late. You are loved. I love you. Your Grandmother loves you. I know my dad wouldn't spend this much time on you if he didn't care. And look at Marc…" and Sonny stopped and pointed towards Marc, who was visibly shaken by what was happening. Sonny continued: "He cares about you too. And as for me, you're far too late to back out now. I am totally smitten with you. Now buck up, dude, my dad and your grandmother weren't done." He crouched down, hugged Will as tightly as he dared and placed the iPad in front of him.

Will's POV

Will looked at the iPad screen that was thrust in front of him. He looked away to wipe the tears that were streaming across his cheeks, then back. There was Mr. Kiriakis and his Grandma, waiting, as patiently as they could. Marlena noticed that Will was now paying attention to them, so she began: "Sweetie, there is someone here who would like to speak to you. Are you ready? Courage, sweetling". Marlena waved for a person to come towards the screen. It was Neil's father.

Mr. Hulgrin's POV

Mr. Hulgrin looked visibly shaken by Will's reaction to the news of his son's passing. He looked at Will with what he hoped Will would interpret as genuine concern and compassion, because those emotions WERE genuine. "Hello Will", He began. "I hope you don't mind my being here. But I need to speak to you. Is that okay? Will nodded and said: "I am so sorry Mr. Hulgrin." And before Will could say any more Mr. Hulgrin said: "No Will, you have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one that is sorry. I 'm so sorry that I yelled at you and blamed you that day. You are not to blame Will. You know that right? Neil loved you and I know you loved him too. And what Mr. Kiriakis and Dr. Evans said to you is true. It had to happen fast. There was no time to warn you. And to be honest, I wanted to let you get on with your life without worrying about Neil. We, Neil's mother and I, want you to be there at the funeral. We will postpone it until you aren't busy. Your grandmother thinks that the weekend would be okay. Will, Neil wouldn't want you to blame yourself for any of this. Okay? If you feel up to it, I'd like you to say something about my son. Would you like to do that?" "I'd be happy to", said Will. "Good. I'm glad Will. Now, Mr. Kiriakis has some more to say."

Will's POV

Will couldn't believe what he was hearing. Mr. Hulgrin actually wanted him at Neil's Funeral. Poor Neil. Will was much calmer than he thought he should be and then he realized that it was because Sonny was holding him. He craned his head to be able to look into Sonny's eyes. And he was immersed in Love. And it was enough. He turned back to the iPad screen to see Justin waiting patiently. When Justin noticed that Will's attention was again on him he said: "Will, I 'm really sorry to have to do this. I know Neil's passing is more than enough to take in, but there is more." Will nodded, as he felt Sonny embrace him just a little tighter. Justin continued: "Will, firstly, the trial has been moved up and will start on Monday. You will not need to be physically present, but at some point you will be required to give testimony via video-feed. I will contact you with more details later. And there is one more thing. Three of the accused who were out on bail, must have anticipated the injunction reversal and disappeared. There is no reason to suspect that they would be coming after you; however, I was asked to warn you. Campus security and the local, provincial and federal police forces have been advised. You may get visits from them."

Marc's POV

Marc watched Will say goodbye to his grandmother and to Sonny's dad. He watched as Sonny continued to hug Will, very tightly. Will looked at Sonny and said: "I'm so sorry, Sonny. I pushed you away. I should have known better." Marc then heard Sonny say: "Babe, it's okay. Anyone would have reacted the way you did. Like your Grandma said, you did fantastic Will." Sonny then stood up, helping Will stand too. And said: "Will, you okay?" Marc saw Will nod. Then Marc heard Sonny say: "Will, it's late. All I want to do now is hold you and touch you. But if I do that now I'm not sure I could stop. And remember, we are supposed to be tortoises. " Marc saw Will nod, smile and then lean forward and kiss Sonny with a passionate gentleness that Marc thought denoted an incredible amount of self-control on both Sonny's and Will's part. It was simply amazing to see. Marc felt honoured to have witnessed that.

Then Marc saw Sonny break contact with Will, smile and slowly leave the room. Will, smiled at Sonny and said: "I love you so much" Marc heard Sonny say, as he opened the door and stepped into the hallway: " I love you more, babe" Marc then witnessed Will, jog to the door, kiss Sonny one last time that night and slowly and gently close the door. Then Marc saw Will silently go to his dresser to get ready to get into bed. Marc hoped that one day he could find a girl that he could fall in love with as much as these two loved each other. He then went to his own dresser to get ready for bed.


	14. Chapter 14

Sonny's POV

Sonny was watching Will, who was staring down the Ottawa River, looking towards the Parliament Buildings and the city of Gatineau across the way. Will was leaning on the railing near the theatre. He had a contented, if somewhat contemplative, look on his face. After Will's appointment with Dr. Pinnot, Sonny had taken Will on a walk. They started, in silence, and walked from the University's main Medical Clinic building down to the canal and downstream to the locks connecting the canal with the Ottawa River, the canal's last stop. They walked up a hill and then proceeded to tour the outside of the Parliament Buildings, starting from the back of the buildings where they saw an enormous structure that housed a dozen or so feral cats.

They ended up on the parliament's enormous front lawn, where the fountain containing the eternal flame is located. Sonny loved this part of the walk. He was always amazed at how welcoming the Parliament Buildings looked, even though security measures had been put in place after 9/11 to "close things off". They then walked along Sussex Drive and toured the outside of the National Gallery of Canada, finally ending up at Nepean Point. Throughout all this, Will hardly said a word. He had grabbed Sonny's hand several times as they walked, letting go eventually, and then coming back to Sonny again. Sonny could not blame Will for his contemplative mood. Will had had a heck of a morning.

Sonny had arrived at the medical centre just a few minutes before Will's appointment was scheduled to be finished. He started to sit down as the nurse at the reception desk asked him who he was. "Oh, I'm Sonny Kiriakis, I'm just here to wait for a friend." The nurse nodded and asked him: "Is your friend Will Horton?" Sonny nodded. "Then please go in through that door over there. They are waiting for you." And she pointed to a door on the far left at the end of a corridor.

Sonny walked to the door and hesitated. He wondered why they needed him there. He knocked and heard a man's voice say: "Come in Mr. Kiriakis." What he saw when he walked in was a little frightening. Will was crouched on the floor his head on a couch as his arms were wrapped around the back of his head. Will looked like he was in serious pain, emotionally at least. He looked like he had been sobbing. He looked very drained and yet, his muscles were all rigid and shaking. The doctor had pulled his chair near and was crouching towards him. He had his hand stretched towards Will but was not touching him. Dr. Pinnot looked towards Sonny and said: "Hello Sonny, please close the door and then come sit by Will." Sonny closed the door and walked towards Will; he looked at Dr. Pinnot for some guidance and Yves Pinnot simply indicated with his hand for Sonny to sit next to Will.

Sonny sat down, placing his back to the couch and tucked his feet to his buttocks grabbing onto his knees. He looked at Will, who hadn't reacted, as far as Sonny could tell, to his presence, at all. "Hey dude, what's up?" he said very tentatively. Dr. Pinnot looked at Sonny, and said: "Normally I wouldn't do this, at least not yet, but Will here is at a crossroads and I think he needs to hear some things from you. Are you up for that Sonny?" Sonny looked at Dr. Pinnot and then at Will:" Sure. What would you like to know?" Sonny waited for Will to speak. He could see that Will was trying but just couldn't get himself to verbalize anything. Then he heard say: "Sonny, do you think Will is beautiful?" Sonny almost laughed, as he gestured towards Will and said: "Of course he is. Just look at him" At that Sonny could see Will react. He twisted his head to look up at Sonny , his blue eyes distorted by redness, and gave Sonny a look that could only be described as skeptical tinged with anger. Sonny looked at Dr. Pinnot realizing he might have said something wrong. The doctor simply smiled at Sonny and said: "Tell him why" and Sonny continued: "Will doesn't realize the effect he has on people." Dr. Pinnot interrupted to simply say: "Sonny, tell it to Will." Sonny turned to Will and looked at him, trying to convey all his feelings in his words. He wanted to touch Will so badly, but realized that now was not the time. He ached with the strain of not doing so.

"Will, baby, you don't realize the effect you have on people. Do you? Sure you're gorgeous. Max called you a super-model for a reason, but it's far more than that. When people look into your eyes, those crazy blue eyes of yours that sometimes swirl in different blues that make me crazy, they see kindness, and caring. They see innocence and strength…" Sonny was interrupted by Will's body shooting straight up to a standing position. Will spat out: "I… am… not… strong." Sonny, remaining seated where he was, looked up at Will: "Of course you are. Will, if what happened to you, happened to me, to most people, we would still be in a catatonic state right now." Will looked at Sonny, anger growing, but Sonny could see that Will was fighting his reaction: "I… let… it… happen. If I had fought Nick off harder I could have saved Neil. But I didn't now Neil is dead. I was weak." Will fell silent, and began to sit down next to Sonny.

Without thinking, and because the ache became too strong for Sonny to handle, Sonny grabbed Will's wrists, and pulled himself up so that he was directly facing Will. Will did not pull away, and Sonny continued :"Will, babe, it was seven against two. There isn't anything more that you could have done. They had weapons, Will. You didn't And I need to say something else Will, something you may not like. Are you ready?" Will nodded, expecting, even hoping it was something about how awful a person he was. "Will, I feel terrible that Neil died, I really do; but, I am so glad that you didn't I am so glad that you are here, with me. I am so glad that I get to love you. I am glad that you don't have to choose between Neil and me, Will, because you are such a good, BEAUTIFUL person, that I know having to make a choice like that would tear… you… apart. Call me selfish, and maybe I am. But if those bad things hadn't happened to you, I would never have met you; and I will always love Neil for that; even though we never met. His sacrifice brought you to me, and I will always be grateful to him for that." Sonny looked away from Will as he finished: "And someday, I hope you are too." Will threw himself into Sonny's arms and in between sobs, Sonny could hear Will say, "I love you so much".

Dr. Pinnot, smiling, said to Sonny: "Thank you Sonny. I couldn't have said that better myself." He looked at Will and said: "Will, you said earlier that you weren't sure if you could go to the funeral. How do you feel now?" Before Will answered, Sonny said: "Will, I know I said I probably couldn't come, but arrangements have been made, on our behalf. I'm free this weekend. My uncle Vic is sending a plane. You said you wanted me there, and if you still do, I'll go. I need to pay my respects to Neil since he helped you come to terms and accept who you were and helped bring you into my life." Will looked at Sonny and then at Dr. Pinnot and said: "I'll go. For Neil and for me. And for Sonny." Then Dr. Pinnot stood up and said: "Well that was exhausting! He smiled:" Will, you did amazing today. I'll see you next week?" Both Will and Sonny stood up nodded and Will went to the reception desk to schedule another appointment.

Will's POV

Will looked out at the river, the Parliament Buildings, the city across the way and sighed. The wind had picked up a little and was gently caressing his face. Throughout the walk, after his morning session with Dr. Pinnot, Will had taken his time to think about things: about Neil, about Sonny, and about himself. He still felt conflicted. He could remember a time, what seemed now like eons ago, when he considered himself the strong one. He was the one his mother had leaned on to help keep her life and the lives of everyone in his ever changing family, together. He was the one that made decisions, sometimes rash ones, sometimes decisions he wasn't ready to make, but he made them. And then things changed, and he lost himself, while also finding himself. Neil had been there for him throughout Will's coming out process. Sonny was there to help with the loss of Neil and the beginning of Will's long road back to respecting himself again. Will needed to start making decisions again. He was grateful for everyone: his Grandma Marlena, Neil, Sonny, who were there for him to lean on. He was beginning to realize that it was okay to lean on people, but sometimes you had to stand up, straight, and alone. Will decided that one of the ways he could do that was to go to the funeral, stand up and talk about Neil. It is what Neil's parents wanted and he would do that. He also decided that he wanted Sonny there to hold his hand. Neil would be okay with that.

As the wind continued to caress Will's face, Will recalled the sensation that Sonny's hands had done to those same areas. Since Tuesday, and their interrupted alone-session, Will and Sonny had had several opportunities to be alone together. They had progressed, although rather slowly, rather nicely, in Will's opinion. Will recalled, in their last alone session, that Sonny had undressed in front of Will and Will was given permission to explore. As Sonny stood there, Will, still fully dressed, started touching Sonny gently, all over. He started touching Sonny's face his shoulders and arms. Will knelt and touched Sonny's legs, his inner thigh and then Will touched Sonny's little friend who was then standing at full attention. Before Will could start stroking harder, he was interrupted by Sonny, who had demonstrated incredible self-control by crouching down and raising Will to his feet. Sonny kissed Will gently on the lips then proceeded to go and put his underwear back on. Sonny asked Will to undress and Will did so. Will then gave permission for Sonny to explore his body. And Sonny did so. Will did not have to exercise self-control, because Sonny had exercised it for him, except Sonny had teased Will just a little by kissing Will's little friend before he had stood up to kiss Will passionately on the lips.

Wilson's POV

Sonny noticed that Will began to smile. He wondered what Will was thinking; but suspected that it was something good. Sonny had waited patiently for Will to be in a better frame of mind before speaking too much. He judged, by the look that Will was now giving him that Will was ready to communicate a little. "Will, babe, how are you feeling?" Will simply said:" Better", hesitated a little then continued: "Sonny, you said earlier that your Uncle Vic is sending a plane. When do we leave?" Sonny smiled and said: "Apparently it's ready to leave at any time. We can leave tonight , go to the funeral tomorrow and spend some time in Salem, then come back tomorrow or Sunday, whenever you are ready." Will, smiled, then, making another decision, said: "Sonny, I don't think I can handle being around my Mom and the kids…." Sonny interrupted: "That's been thought of, and taken care of. If you are comfortable with this idea, you and I will be staying at my Uncle Vic's. "Sonny looked at Will's eyes as they twinkled with excitement. "Separate rooms, Will." Sonny stopped and smiled when he saw Will frown. "Your Grandma Marlena wanted me to tell you that this was actually your Aunt Maggie's idea; the staying over idea. The separate rooms' idea is mine." Will had forgotten about his aunt Maggie. She hadn't been the most supportive of Will's relatives since the whole thing with Nick had exploded in the news. Nick had always been one of Maggie's favorite nephews, despite everything Nick had ever done.

Will looked at Sonny, and said: "I'd love to be able to see your dad again, and thank him for all that he has done for me." Sonny leaned in and kissed Will. "Tonight it is then." Sonny, reached for his cell and proceeded to dial his Uncle Vic.


	15. Chapter 15

Sonny 's POV

**_Sonny looked towards Will going across the hall to his bedroom. They were going to have a big day tomorrow. Sonny saw Will stop at his door, turn back towards Sonny, smile and give a little wave before he stepped through the rooms doorway. Sonny couldn't help but smile. Dr. Pinnot was right. Sonny thought Will was so beautiful it hurt. Will had this way of being sensitive and strong at the same time. His insecurities mixed with a certain cockiness. It was endearing as hell._**

Sonny thought back to the plane ride. After all the arrangements were made Will was about to take his anti-anxiety medication, did a small calculation in his head and realized that it was now too late to take it. By the time the medication kicked in they would have landed already. The lost-puppy/anxious child look on Will's face was far too precious for words. Then Sonny noticed an almost instant change: a mixture of resolve and fortitude.

Sonny recollected that on the plane ride, Will had taken Sonny's hand and did not let go. They made small talk; Talked about what Will would say during the funeral; or simply stared into each other's eyes. Sonny had mused that Will wouldn't really be alone during his eulogy because Sonny would be staring at him the whole time. Will had replied:

"I won't be alone Sonny, because you will be right up there with me."

Sonny had countered: "I don't belong there Will"

Will just looked at Sonny, smiled and said:" Sonny, you belong with me" and gave Sonny his signature, smirky-grinned-eyebrow-lifted-sexy look.

**Sonny opened the door to his room, walked in and started to undress for bed. He couldn't help himself as he wondered how Will was looking doing the same thing in the room across the hall. Sonny sat down and started to think back about the events at dinner, another reason to be proud of Will.**

Sonny and Will arrived at the Kiriakis mansion and were greeted by Victor, Maggie, Justin and Adrienne. When Sonny got out of the car and noticed who was waiting for them he twirled back and stopped Will from getting out right away.

"Will, it looks like a welcoming committee. If you can't handle all this, we will just speed right through and find your room, so you can have a little privacy. You have enough to deal with as it is."

Will simply looked at Sonny: "Sonny, I love you, and thank you for being so protective, but life has to be lived. I can't start living my life as a hermit. Although if it were just you and me…"

**Sonny smirked as he re-lived that beautiful look of Will's; even the one when he is trying to be sexy on purpose, although the look where he is being sexy and he doesn't even know that he is doing it, is way better.**

Sonny and Will moved up the lane towards the waiting four-person welcoming committee. The first to greet them was Maggie. Sonny noticed that Will had slowed down a little and held Sonny's hand a little tighter when he realized that his Aunt Maggie was going to greet them first. Sonny recalled Will saying that Maggie Kiriakis, who was also Nick Fallon's aunt, had taken sides in the beginning when Will had revealed who had assaulted him. Maggie had not believed Will. She wasn't the only one, but she had been the most vocal. And had called Will certain names that she seriously regretted saying later.

"Welcome home Sonny. And welcome Will. I'm really sorry that you had to come here under such circumstances but I'm glad that you agreed to stay here."

Will stopped short of hugging his aunt, looked into her eyes, saw her concern and simply said: "It's okay Aunt Maggie, you don't have to…"

Maggie did not let Will finish: "Actually Will, yes I do. I need to apologize to you for the things I said, and for not believing you in the first place. Unlike what I told you before, I truly don't believe that you and Neil deserved what happened to you. No one deserves that, regardless."

Sonny could not but notice the word regardless. It appeared that Aunt Maggie did not approve of relationships such as Will had with Neil, or that Will had now with Sonny. Sonny looked towards Will and, judging from Will's expression, which was surprisingly non-committal, especially for Will, he surmised that Will had noticed that little tidbit as well.

Sonny noticed his Uncle Vic move forward to give a huge bear-hug to Sonny. "You don't come here nearing often enough Sonny."

"Sorry Uncle Vic "was all Sonny could say. Victor had looked at Will, gone up to him and embarrassed him by the elbows. "Welcome Will. Justin has told us a lot about you. I'm very glad Sonny has found someone. And you aren't too bad-looking either. Please feel welcome here. Now," Victor looked at Will, with some concern. "Will, a little get together with a few people has been arranged. If you don't feel up to it., we…"

Sonny could not help but notice that his Uncle Vic looked at Maggie, before continuing:

"We…will understand. Your mother is here along with your Grandma Marlena, as well as the Hulgrins."

Sonny noticed that his Uncle Vic picked up on Will's anxiety at hearing of the last of the guests, because his Uncle Vic simply said: "I know Will, I know. It seems that a man's castle isn't his own anymore because if it were up to me…"

_Sonny couldn't help but snicker a little at that little memory, as he was lifting the covers to his bed. _

After being greeted by his dad, Sonny was embarrassed by his mother. She whispered in his ear: "Sonny, I can see why you fell for Will, he is absolutely gorgeous, but I hope you know what you are getting into. I don't want you to get hurt"

Sonny simply whispered back: "We all have our little histories to get over, don't we Mom."

Sonny noticed that his mother was very cordial and understanding towards Will after that.

They all moved into the parlour. Sonny grabbed a hold of Will's hand and squeezed. "How are you doing, baby?" he whispered into Will's ear. Then he lightly kissed Will's earlobe.

"With you here, I think I could do anything."

Suddenly Sonny and Will were surrounded by Will's mother, Sami and Will's Grandma Marlena.

_Sonny, now under the covers, thought back to how Will handled his mother's questions. _

Sami seemed a little concerned about Will having jumped into another relationship so quickly:" I mean what is everyone going to think? I mean you never actually broke up with Neil, and now you'll be going to his funeral with another guy..."

_Sonny recalls he almost choked with laughter when Mr. Hulgrin walked up to Sami._

"My dear Mrs. Horton, Neil was a vegetable. I'm sure Sonny here is a lot more fun."

Sonny looked at Will, who's grip on his hand had increased dramatically. He could see Will's emotions, flashing across his face. Will's blue eyes were blurring to a watery grey, tears were welling up.

"Mr, Hulgrin….I"

Mr. Hulgrin simply went to Will and hugged him. Will finally let go of his emotions and cried of Mr. Hulgrin's shoulders, although his grip on Sonny's hand was still strong.

Sonny went to hug Will but Will straightened.

"I'm sorry Mr. Hulgrin, that wasn't very manly of me."

**Sonny, who was slowly drifting off to sleep, recalled with a smile everyone stopping and turning towards a loud voice that simply said:**

"Bull"

Sonny, as well as everyone else turned towards the voice and witnessed Victor, straighten up and say:

"Will, you go ahead and cry. And if tomorrow, you break down and cry, don't worry about it. In the old—days men didn't cry. We got angry and we got revenge. I can't help but think, however, that if more men cried back then, there would have been far less violence in this world."

Sonny took Will in his arms and felt Will's head rest on his shoulders.

"Thanks, Uncle Vic"

"No problem Sonny. Now I suggest we get to the dining room and eat something"

**Sonny was very close to drifting off to sleep. The last memory he recalls is Will in the corridor just before they separated to go into their separate rooms.**

Sonny and Will said their, good-nights and goodbyes to everyone. They walked up several flights of stairs and around a few corridors. Finally, Sonny stopped and said:

"Well Will, this is my stop. Your room is just down here."

Sonny pointed to the room across the hall. He looked into Will's eyes. The blue in his eyes was shimmering, no longer foggy with tears, but slightly reddened with tiredness. Sonny reached for Will's face and gently cupped his chin. He leaned forward and gently placed his lips on Will's who responded with love and yearning, mixed with carefulness and tenderness. Sonny broke of the kiss and was about to say goodnight when he heard will whisper:

"Sonny, can't I visit with you in your room? Just for a little while? Please?" And, Will looked at Sonny, his eyes pleading; his yearning for closeness was extremely evident. He touched Sonny's chest and crimped it sexily with his fingers. "Pretty Please?"

Sonny almost wavered but, looking at Will he realized that Will was exhausted emotionally, and probably physically as well.

"You know that I would like nothing better, Will. But my parents will be along soon and I don't think you will be up for the embarrassment you'll feel when my Mom opens the door to tuck me in."

He gave Will a sheepish, incredibly cute baby-face look. And saw Will's face change. laughter built up and exploded. Will grabbed hold of the back of Sonny's and kissed him with as unbridled a passion as he dared, being that they were out in the open corridor. Will let go and started for his room.

**_Sonny finally drifted off to sleep, a smile sprawled across his face._**


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter 16_

_Will's POV_

**Will was seated in the front row of the alumni auditorium of Salem U. To his right was Sonny and to his left was Mr. Hulgrin. Neil had been a Junior at Salem U and was a prominent student council member and LGBT advocate. He had many friends and was known by many more. His beating and subsequent death, along with Will's assault, had been a rallying point for protests against violence against the LGBTQ community. The Hulgrins, although Roman Catholic, had decided not to hold the service for their son at a church, for fear that it would be uncomfortable for Neil's friends. Salem U offered the auditorium. It was packed with people. The service was multi- denominational. And Will's Uncle Eric was presently performing an opening prayer. Neil's sister Cathy would speak, and then it would be Will's turn. Will needed to calm down. Although he had a tight hold of Sonny's hand, for some reason, it wasn't calming him down enough. His thoughts wandered to earlier that day.**

Will had a calm sleep, no nightmares that he was aware of; he had taken a sleeping pill to calm his nerves. It must not have been enough however, because he was awake rather early. It was 6:30 a.m. by the time Will decided it was now or never to find a bathroom. And afterwards he decided to try to find the main kitchen. He had been told the night before that there would be a few things laid out in case he woke up early and was hungry. He roamed the corridors, trying to be as quiet as possible. Went down several flights of stairs and finally found the main kitchen. And sure enough there were fruits laid out and a note stating certain items in the various fridges and cupboards. Will decided on some fresh fruit salad, some milk and some cheeses and laid them out.

"Well Will, I'm glad you could make yourself at home."

Will looked up from his fruit salad, which, by the way, was probably the best fruit salad he'd ever had, and saw Adrienne standing in the corridor looking slightly grim.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Kiriakis, I'll put it all back."

Adrienne, figuring out that what she said might have gone a little too far, replied:

"I'm sorry Will, of course if you're hungry you need to eat, I haven't really woken up yet. Can I have some?"

Will proceeded to make Adrienne a bowl of fruit salad and poured her a glass of milk. Adrienne sat down beside Will and started to eat. Will was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the silence. It was becoming very clear that Mrs. Kiriakis was leaving several things unsaid. Will decided to clear the air.

"Mrs. Kiriakis? I am so grateful for what your family is doing for me. I'm also grateful for your son. I know in my heart of hearts that I am not good enough for him. And I know you feel the same way…"

Adrienne was about to interrupt him but Will pressed on:

"Mrs. Kiriakis. I know Sonny and I haven't known each other very long. And I know you think we are rushing things and maybe we are. But, Mrs. Kiriakis, I love your son. And I promise you that I will not do anything to hurt him. I'm afraid your son will wake up one day and realize the colossal mistake he has made. And if that day comes, I will still be grateful for the time I got to spend with him."

Adrienne had been incredibly moved by what Will had just said. Will could tell just by the softening of her expression; but before either of them could say anything they both heard:

"Babe. That will never ever happen."

Sonny advanced rapidly towards Will, and even though it was in front of his mother, he planted a passionate kiss on Will's lips.

**Will could still taste that kiss, along with a few others that he had shared with Sonny this day. His uncle was finishing his prayer, and inviting Cathy to the podium to say a few words. Will felt Sonny squeeze his hand, as if Sonny instinctively knew that Will needed it. And as Will squeezed back, he remembered:**

Will had been told not to bring too many things on the plane. Sonny had said that there was a very large collection of suits at the mansion and if nothing fit, they'd go out and find something. Will was placed inside this enormous closet and he and Sonny were scavenging for something to wear that afternoon. The funeral was scheduled in a few hours. The Hulgrins had called a few times "just to check in", as had his mother and Grandma Marlena. Justin Kiriakis had come into the closet, and seeing Will in a bit of a trance, went up to him to give him a little pep talk.

"Remember Will, whatever you say about Neil will be just fine. And if you get emotional, that's okay. You will have plenty of people there that care about you."

Will was grateful for the advice.

"Oh Will, I do need to warn you, though. It appears that a group of protesters has decided to camp out at the entrance to the auditorium. They seem to be peaceful, but I asked to be kept informed. Also, remember that Nick's trial starts on Monday. You won't be called as a witness for several days. But I just wanted to know if that law firm in Ottawa had contacted you."

Will assured Justin that they had indeed; and, since Will knew what some of the other questions would be he decided to elaborate a little further:

"By the way Mr. Kiriakis, I did get updates from the FBI, the RCMP, the OPP and the Ottawa Police, as well as several visits on Thursday." In fact, my email is still filling up with updates from them."

Sonny had pleaded with Will not to bring a laptop or his iPad with him, so that he wouldn't get distracted. Will had, however, brought his phone.

"They are still investigating that letter. But I have been told there are a few leads, but they are being vague."

Will had a feeling as to why, but he decided to let Mr. Kiriakis tell him, and sure enough, he did:

"I'm sorry about that Will. I instructed everyone to keep me in the loop and leave you be for now. If there really was anything, I would have let you know."

Sonny, who had been busy at the other end of the closet, trying on shoes, saw an opening to join in on the conversation.

"Dad, if I didn't know any better I would think you were trying to horn in on my relationship with Will. Being protective of him is my job."

Sonny jogged towards Will and planted yet another passionate kiss on Will's hungry lips in front of a parent. And Will heard Justin laughing, but then got too busy to care.

**Will licked his lips, again tasting the kisses, and heard his name being announced. He gripped Sonny's hand even tighter than he had been, stood up and pulled Sonny up with him. On his way to the podium, Will could hear some very distant shouting. And even though he had not wanted to, he remembered:**

Will and Sonny were again holding hands in the car on the way to the auditorium. As they got to the entrance, Will noticed that there were people picketing outside. The signs ranged from "God Hates Fags" to "Death to Fags", a bunch of quotations and a few other slurs. Will heard Sonny gasp and then say:

"Those effing bastards"

And before Sonny could coax Will not to look, Will saw the sign that caused Sonny's reaction:

"Neil and Will Deserved What They Got"

Before Will even knew what he was doing, and way before Sonny, or anyone else in the car, could stop him, Will was out of the car and walking very briskly towards the man holding that particular sign.

"You there! Moron! Do you really believe that Neil deserved to be murdered because he was gay? And what about me? I was raped! I see there isn't a sign calling Nick Fallon a fag! Why not?"

The person holding the sign and others around him seemed to be taken aback by Will's aggressive behaviour and his mention of Nick in particular. Will continued:

"You know what! I don't care! I respect your right sir, and the rest of you, to be stupid! I just hope that God sees fit to present me with a front row seat when judgment day arrives and the lot of you finally realize how hateful, and stupid you truly are!"

Before Will could react even more he felt strong arms that could only be Sonny's, wrap around him and direct him towards the open doors.

**Will felt those strong arms again, as they wrapped around him, and directed him towards the podium.**

Sonny's POV

Sonny stood behind Will, who was standing at the podium, with one hand behind his back; a hand that Sonny was holding. Sonny had his other hand around Will's waist. He whispered in Will's ear:

"I am so proud of you"

Sonny felt Will relax, take a deep breath and begin to speak:

"Hello, everyone, most of you know me or at least know about me, but for those of you who don't, I am Will Horton. And God help me, but I am the reason that we are all here today. Neil was my first love, he was my friend; he jumped started me straight out of the closet; well not… straight… out…"

Sonny could hear gasps and some laughter as Will continued:

"Anyway, if it weren't for friends of mine who guessed I was gay before I did, and a game of beer pong, I would never have met Neil. Neil would never have gotten me just drunk enough one night for me to lose my inhibitions and plant one of the best kisses I have ever planted on anyone, well in my humble opinion anyway…"

Sonny could feel Will losing control, he tightened his grip, whispered "I love you" and heard Will continue:

"I would have gone much further than a kiss that night, but Neil wouldn't let us. I was confused and more than a little bewildered and Neil talked to me all night. I had so many questions and he answered them all. Then not long afterwards I was accused of murder of all things. I knew I didn't do it, and so did Neil, because I was talking with him all night that night…."

Sonny could hear surprise brewing in the crowd. Sonny himself was a little surprised even though he knew most of the story. His grip stayed strong as Will continued:

"Neil was the one that went to the police to give me an alibi. I was too much of a coward to do it."

Sonny knew that part wasn't as true as Will thought it was. Will was maybe very confused. But a coward Will was not.

"And then all hell broke loose. I was somewhat angry at Neil for putting a bomb in my closet and forcing an emergency evacuation. But eventually I realized how brave he was."

Sonny could feel Will starting to tremble. There was a very good chance that Will would lose it, but Sonny was determined to prolong Will's calm as much as he could. He went very close to Will's ear and whispered 'Boo". Will snickered, relaxed again and carried on:

"On the last day that I saw Neil conscious, I was going to offer myself to him, out of love this time and not lust. I also wanted to thank him for all that he had done for me. But that moment was taken from me and so I want to take this moment to do just that…."

Although Sonny could not see Will's eyes he knew that they were beginning to fog up with mist, even though his voice remained steady. Sonny heard Will say:

"Neil, wherever you are, thank you. Thank you for your love, thank you for helping me find myself. Thank you for your sacrifice that day. There is no way I can repay you except to live my life the way you wanted me to; Out and Proud and Fully. And I…. I… I intend to do that."

Sonny felt Will turn and throw his body against Sonny's. Will placed his head on Sonny's shoulder and started to sob. Sonny had just one more thing to do before he led Will away from the podium. He leaned forward a little and spoke:

"Hello, My name is Sonny Kiriakis. I didn't have the pleasure to meet Neil. But over the past week, I think I have gotten to know him. And I have this to say to Neil..."

Sonny took a breath and then continued: " Neil, wherever you are, I too would like to thank you. Thank you for helping this guy here in my arms, become the person he is. The person I love. And Neil, I promise you that I will continue the great work you started. You don't have to worry. He's safe, he's loved and I will take care of him for you."

With that, Sonny led Will away from the podium, they sat down and Sonny realized that there wasn't a dry eye in the whole stadium, including his own.


	17. Chapter 17

Sonny and Will were lying on a lounge chair together; Sonny lying on the bottom with his arms around Will, who will lying sideways with one leg on Sonny's thigh; his head nestled in the crook of Sonny's neck. It was the evening after the funeral. And Sonny had taken Will to this glassed-in atrium overlooking one of the many Kiriakis ornamental gardens.

Will sighed. He enjoyed these intimate times with Sonny, but he had something on his mind; something that had been brewing for a while, but had come to a head, in his mind, earlier in the day, at the reception after the funeral. It had taken him up till now to find the courage to address his feelings. He was afraid that if he voiced his concerns to Sonny, that Sonny would actually agree with him, and then what? Will didn't know. His fear was that Sonny might get angry, and not want to continue any kind of relationship with him; but Will's concerns were genuine and they needed to be addressed. And so Will sighed again and gently spoke in Sonny's ear.

"Sonny?"

Sonny mumbled a questioning "Hmmmm?" He had been drifting off to sleep. Having Will nestled comfortably in his arms was, for him, in this moment, very relaxing; especially after the emotional turmoil of the day.

"Sonny, if I say something, will you promise me you won't get mad, and hear me out, please?"

Sonny tensed up slightly. In his experience, when someone says something like that, it hardly ever ends well. But he was so calm and this moment, up until now, was so perfect, he did not let that insecurity get to him. He simply said calmly: "Okay"

Will adjusted himself on the lounge chair, propping himself on an elbow, in order for him to look into Sonny's beautiful brown eyes. He sighed again and stated:

"I think your Mom is right."

Sonny sat up onto both his elbows taking Will with him. He looked into Will's questioning blue eyes that were shimmering with the weight of his statement. Sonny shook his head and said: "About?"

Will looked saddened and tired: "You know…"

Sonny's face grew slightly red, trying to hold back the anger he was feeling. That anger was not directed at Will, but at his mother. He breathed in, to calm himself. He was angry at his mother for putting ideas into Will's head, feeding off of Will's insecurities. He needed to reassure Will. As he took his time to collect his thoughts, he stared into Will's blue eyes that were now looking slightly worried, and remembered:

Sonny had led Will into the room where the reception was being held. There were quite a number of people there already. All of whom were there to pay their respects and condolences to the Hulgrins and to Will. Quite a few had already come up to Will and to Sonny to express how moving their respective little speeches were. And that Neil would have approved. Both Sonny and Will, although both slightly embarrassed, had graciously accepted the praise.

They rounded a corner, and if Sonny had seen them, he would have avoided them; but he hadn't. He realized his mother and Will's mother were in a heated conversation when he had heard his mother say:

"…Oh really? Well, I don't think Sonny should have to deal with Will's problems. He's only twenty-two; and to be saddled with a troubled teenager like Will isn't my idea of an ideal match either!"

Sonny could hear Sami puffing up and gearing to go full throttle at his mother: "Troubled teenager! Will has had a slew of things to deal with in the last couple of months. And I don't think Will needs someone in his life who is obviously taking advantage of him!"

Sonny had noticed his mother noticing him turning the corner and she, at least, had the courtesy to say: "Sami, now isn't the time to get into this. But we will." And Sonny saw his mother walk towards him.

Sonny shook the memory away. It seemed obvious to him, now, that Will had actually heard his mother say what she said. Will had pretended to not have heard anything. But instead, let it gnaw at him until now. He breathed in and said, his voice expressing his love and his understanding:

"Will, you heard my Mom calling you a troubled teenager, didn't you."

Will's blue eyes filled with tears, as he tried desperately to hold his emotions in. His voice was heavy with the strain of it:

"Sonny, maybe she's right. Maybe I'm too troubled. I still have a lot to deal with emotionally. Not to mention the stress of the trial and reliving everything. "

Sonny, shifted position to allow for one arm to be free. He extended that arm towards Will and gently placed a finger over Will's lips to silence him. He looked at Will with a mixture of compassion and mischief as he said:

"Will, maybe it's your mother that is right. Maybe I'm the one that is taking advance of you. Maybe all I want is for you to trust me enough so I can take, more gently but just as surely, what Nick took…"

Will, shot Sonny's hand away with slightly more force than was needed as he shouted:

"No! I know you don't want that. If you did, you would have taken what I have been trying to offer you, long before now! You're the one who is being patient! You are being far too tortoise-like for my taste Sonny! My mother is wrong. She is just being over-protective!"

Sonny, smiled: "So is mine Will." Is all Sonny needed to say. "And she is wrong."

Will decided that now was the time to let it all out:

"You shouldn't have to be burdened with a guy like me. You should have fun, with a bunch of guys. Play the field, or whatever. And, maybe, I need to deal with things on my own, instead of going from one protector to another."

There it was: the elephant in the atrium, as they say. Sonny, shifted position so he was now sitting up, with Will kneeling in front of him. He took Will's head in both his hands and looked at Will's blue tear-stained eyes. "Will, I fell in love with you because of you heart, your compassion; because you made me laugh. In the beginning, did I feel sorry for you? Yes I did…"

Will started to say something but Sonny pressed on. This needed to be said and said quickly:

"Will, babe, I loved you from the second I laid eyes on you; from the first moment that we met, with me carrying that stupid sign. You are who you are, Will. You have issues. Different issues than a lot of people have to deal with, but you know, I have issues as well. And one day, WE will deal with MY issues. For now, we deal with yours. Together. Because we love each other. Do you love me enough to let me help you?"

Will, as the tears that had formed in his eyes, streamed down like a waterfall along his cheeks, looked into Sonny's loving brown eyes. He couldn't deny that he loved Sonny. It was just his own motivations that he suspected:

"Sonny, if your mom is right, and I'm feeling what I'm feeling because I'm simply troubled, or traumatized or wanting protection, I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you in the end."

Sonny, smiled, a large, loving, beautiful smile as he said:

"And what does that tell you?"

Will looked confused, then thoughtful, and then confused again. He wondered what Sonny meant by that and then it hit him:

"It tells me that it's not about what I fear it is. Maybe I'm grateful for the fact that I have you in my life, right now, as I'm going through hell; but it's not why I love you. It is not why I care so much. I have been in love with you despite what I thought you knew about me, from the very first. I love you for you. I want you for who you are. Not what you can do for me. You complete me Sonny. You are my missing half. It might have been Neil that was, but thank heavens I was blessed with two of you, two soul-mates, just for me."

Will brought his elbows to Sonny's shoulders, forcing both of them to become almost one person. That is how closed they were to one another. They shared each other's body-heat. They could feel each other's heart beating slowly at first then faster and faster. Will planted, with direct gentle firmness, his lips on Sonny's, and immediately let his tongue spring forward, parting Sonny's lips, and they both explored each other for a long while.

Eventually they both needed to breathe by themselves. They had shared one breath, exchanging it one to the other for several minutes, causing both to be slightly light-headed. They looked into each other's eyes, each finding in the other what was missing in himself.

Sonny noticed that Will was shivering and maneuvered himself so that he could stand up. He offered his hand to Will and Will took it.

As will rose to his feet Sonny noticed a mischievous grin, a slanted eyebrow and piercing blue eyes staring at him

"Sonny, do we have to be tortoises?"

Sonny laughed and said: "No. I don't think we need to be tortoises anymore. I think we can be…"

"Bunnies?! Can we be bunnies?! Please say Bunnies!"Will interjected.

Sonny laughed. "No Will, not bunnies. Not in this house and not yet. How about fuzzy koala bears?"

Will laughed, then repeated his sexy smile and then said: "I guess I can live with that."

Will and Sonny walked towards the main house in order to explore the koala bear side to their personalities.


	18. Chapter 18

**Note: This chapter contains mature adult sexual content.**

Will stepped out of the elevators on the 10th of the World Exchange Plaza. He was a bit nervous. Actually he was a lot nervous. It was 5:00 p.m. And he had an appointment to see lawyers at the firm of Hoyte, Granger and Smith LLP. It was supposed to be a meeting to prep him for his testimony at trial; a trial that began today. Instead, it turned into something more. The lawyers for the accused tried to argue that since Will would not be present at trial and therefore the accused could not face their accuser, that the charges should be dropped. That motion was of course denied. However, a compromise had been agreed upon, that the lawyers for the accused should be allowed access to Will in order to depose him, thereby freeing Will, potentially, from having to even testify via video conference. When Justin, that morning, explained to Will what would be happening, he expressed his opinion that the lawyers were going to try and get certain information on record that wouldn't normally be allowed in the presence of a judge. And that he would make sure that Will was protected.

Justin said that he would be hopping on a plane and would at least be present to help Will through this. Sonny had said that he would skip class and go with Will. But Justin said that Sonny would not be allowed in the room anyway so he might as well go to class.

And so, Will found himself sandwiched between Justin Kiriakis, who would be acting as Will's advocate, and a lawyer in the DA's office. On the other side of the table were seven lawyers, representing each accused person in both Neil's beating and now murder case and Will's beating and sexual assault case. The cases would be tried together, as well as all the accused together since it was deemed as being one incident. According to Justin, this was not usual.

First the DA lawyer asked Will to describe the incident. And Will went into great detail about that day. He had to stop several times to keep from being too emotional. And Justin called for several breaks, so that Will had a chance to remain calm. The lawyers on the other side had a few specific questions, very specific. Will felt as they were trying to make him sound confused and unsure. But he held his own.

Then the lawyers on the opposite side had their turn to ask questions. They were fairly innocuous until one, pointy-nosed opponent asked:

"Will, did you ever have sex before the incident."

Will was taken aback by that question. Even though Justin had said there would probably be several questions like that. Will simply answered: "No."

"No occasions for oral sex or hand jobs? Kissing, Groping?"

Will couldn't believe what he was hearing. It sounded like questions Marc would be asking. Except Marc asked because he actually cared, as well as wanting to make fun. Will grinned as he remembered:

Will and Sonny had arrived back at the dorm on Sunday night. When Will came into his room Marc was sitting at his desk, watching a video on YouTube. He turned around, walked towards Will, and gave him a brotherly hug.

"You were amazing, man. You and Sonny."

Will looked confused and it must have been plain to see on Will's face because Marc simply said:

"The funeral was webcasted. It was on news websites like TYT and the Huffington Post. Big news."

Will couldn't believe that. He felt a bit embarrassed. He had said some things in the moment that he didn't want everyone on the planet to know. As Will was contemplating what Marc had said, Marc did his customary scan. This time he found something. He was so surprised that he exclaimed:

"Hickie! You got a hickie!" Will you dog!" and he patted Will on the back.

"Yeah. Who knew panda bears gave each other hickies. I sure didn't."

He then looked at Marc, a grin coming across his face. "You should have seen Sonny's Mom's face this morning when she noticed Sonny's …"

Will came back from his daydream, a smile across his face and noticed seven lawyers waiting for an answer, so he gave them one:

"No oral sex or hand jobs. Yes to kissing and groping occasionally, and plenty of Hickies. Oh , I also masturbated, a lot. Alone."

And that seemed to shut them up, for a few seconds.

Another lawyer asked Will to describe his first kiss with Neil. Who initiated it and so on. Will looked at Justin who simply nodded. Will answered: "I did." Their questions continued in the same vein. Will became more and more annoyed with each question.

"Had you had any alcohol during that incident?"

"Yes. Beer. We played Beer-pong as I needed to involve beer."

"Did you take part often in under-age drinking binges?"

"No. And probably fewer times than you did at my age, is my guess."

"Mr. Horton, my social habits are not at issue here."

"Really, Why are mine?"

Justin coughed out a laugh at that point trying to cover up an obvious "Ha"

"Mr. Horton. Please simply answer the questions and keep the commentary to a minimum."

"I will if you will."

"Mr. Horton. You stated that you were planning to discuss being intimate with Neil, before the alleged incident took place. Had you started?"

"In a public park? No. We hadn't started. I was about to kiss Neil, just a kiss, when your horde showed up."

"So my client and the rest, saw you two kissing?"

"Yes. The very beginning of one."

"Thank You Mr. Horton, also, may I ask, have you been intimate with anyone after the alleged incident?"

That brought on objections from Justin and the DA lawyer, requesting why this line of questioning would be appropriate. "Goes to Mr. Horton's current state of mind" Justin and the DA Lawyer simply nodded at Will to continue.

Will looked at Justin with embarrassed and pleading eyes. "Do I have to answer that question?" And Justin nodded again. "Fine. I'll answer; but if you ask for details, I'm outta here." Will sighed:

"Yes. I have been intimate with someone, recently. It wasn't easy. And if you want any more details than that…. Tough."

Will looked around the room, daring someone to ask him about it; it would be a great excuse to walk out. No one did, although Will saw Justin smile a little. "Good." Thought Will. "It's none of anyone else's business."

The other lawyers across the table looked at each other and looked at Will, trying to determine the extent of the intimacy of which Will had spoken. Judging from Will's expression, some of them surmised that it was quite intimate. Will, looking at them, smiled again, and remembered:

Will went to Sonny's room opened the outer door then walked to the locked inner door and knocked three times. The door opened and Sonny was standing in his underwear. Will closed the door behind him very quickly.

Sonny silently went over to Will and kissed him, with a gentle passion that excited them both. Will, as was his custom, placed his elbows on Sonny shoulders, closing the gap between them. He adjusted himself to give Sonny full access to himself. They could both feel each other's excited state. It was extremely evident and mutually satisfying.

Sonny released himself from Will's tightening grip and looked at Will. He then went over to Will and slowly started to pull Will's jersey over his head, and dropped it to the floor. He then, smiling, gently pushed Will onto the bed. Will let himself fall, his legs dangling in the air; giving Sonny access to be able to pull Will's sandals off, then his pants. Sonny then grabbed Will arm and tugged. Will sprang to his feet and laughed.

"Will, do you know how absolutely beautiful you are?"

Will simply blushed, but recovered enough to say:

"I hope I'm as beautiful as you."

As they both looked longingly at one another Will straightened and got the courage to say what he needed to say:

"Sonny, we aren't at your family's mansion anymore. Yesterday, being koala bears was amazing. But I'm ready Sonny. Look at me. Closely. You'll notice I'm ready. I want you so badly it hurts"

And with that, Will took off his underwear, his "little friend" springing up to be noticed. Sonny enjoyed the view for just a moment and then did the same, his "little friend" having the same reaction. Will practically sprinted to Sonny, almost knocking both of them off balance. He hugged Sonny with a ferocity that was, to Sonny, extremely arousing. Both "little friends" met each other and started to play.

Their kissing became passionate. Sonny started kissing Will on his neck and his shoulder, with such gentle force that a friend started to form near Will's Hickie. Sonny then traveled to Will's nipples, causing Will to gasp with pleasure. He then started to travel downwards put was stopped by Will's firm hand.

"Wait, Sonny. I know what you want to do. I want it too. But I need to do it first. Okay? I need to get past something."

Sonny nodded, and smiled a gloriously sexy smile and straightened up. Will then began to kiss Sonny's shoulders and neck and then Sonny's nipples, causing Sonny to have an almost perfectly replicated reaction like Will's. Will then traveled downwards, licking at Sonny's pecks. And kneeling down, grabbed at Sonny's erection, and simply stared at it as he gently started stroking. When Will heard Sonny moan, he looked up and peered into Sonny's eyes. Sonny was pleading, silently hoping. And Will thrust forward opened his mouth and swallowed Sonny's erection.

As Will played with Sonny's erection, his tongue swirling, he looked up at Sonny. He delighted in seeing Sonny's eyes, his entire face in pleasure and expressing his love, he had noticed that Sonny was trying not to touch him. He smiled at that. It was so like Sonny to try to protect him even in the throes of passion. He gently grabbed at Sonny's waving arm and placed it on his head. Even though this could have reminded him of a violent time, it didn't; at least not too much. Sonny projected so much love that Will was content to place his fears far back into his mind.

Sonny was in heaven. But, before it went too far, too fast, he decided it was Will's turn. He gently placed a hand around Will's chin and pressed upward, forcing Will to release him and bringing him upwards towards Sonny's waiting mouth. Sonny kissed him gently, released him, and said:

"My turn."

Sonny lowered himself and, similarly to what Will just did to him, grasped Will's erection and proceeded to engulf Will's throbbing erection. After a few strokes, this became too much for Will. Will started to convulse with pleasure and, panicked thinking it was too late.

"Sonny… Sonny! I…."

Sonny released Will in time for the results of Will's exploding erection to splash across his chest. Sonny simply stood up and walked to the bed, grabbed a towel and wiped himself clean. He then strolled towards Will, who more looking a bit mortified.

"Will, it's alright. I expected that to happen. First times always happen quickly, babe."

Will looked at Sonny, and said: "Really?" and Sonny replied:" Really"

Will, after giving Sonny several gentle and more passionate kisses, bent down, and proceeded to do to Sonny, that Sonny did to Will. It only took slightly longer.

When Sonny was spent and Will had cleaned up, Will looked at Sonny, with pleading eyes and said:"Bunnies?" Sonny smiled, hugged Will and in between kisses said: "Not yet, lover. Soon. Now we become koala bears again. And Sonny gently pushed Will towards his bed."

Will shook himself from his pleasing trance, as he noticed several pairs of eyes staring at him. Justin leaned towards Will and said:

"You did great Will." Will nodded and said: "You have no idea." And he smiled.


	19. Chapter 19

It was Tuesday morning and Will was just getting up after a class with Professor Daniel Horvitz. As he started towards the aisle leading to the main door out of the classroom, he noticed that quite a few people nodded to him, saying hello, as if they knew him. Yesterday, before his date with those slimy attorneys, during hiss Calculus class, several students even came up to him and introduced themselves. It was a bit confusing.

When Will asked them, if he knew them, they had said no; but they had seen him on the web. The webcast of the funeral had gone viral. It also included a very amateurish and grainy, yet incredibly provocative version of Will's outburst outside the auditorium of Salem U. Most people expressed their condolences, some were just happy to meet a "celebrity", and then there were the others. One person in particular sprang briefly to mind:

Marc and Will were walking to their calculus class, one of a few classes they had together, and were stopped by a group of students wanting to introduce themselves. Marc of course was loving this; he had already suggested to Will he should start charging if/when someone actually asks for his autograph.

"Can I be your manager? 80-20 is my cut."

Will tried to ignore him. It wasn't easy to ignore Marc, especially when he was on a role.

The students stopped him and expressed their condolences, nothing unusual, and then one of the students sort of smirked and said:

"I guess it's understandable, I mean you are grieving…"

Marc looked at Will, and noticing Will was a bit uncomfortable asking, he volunteered: "Understandable?"

The student took that as an opening and she continued:

"Well yes, I mean, no offense Will, but you were kind of mean to the guy with the sign. I mean he had a right to express his opinion."

Will looked confused. Marc simply looked angry; an anger he started to express, subtly:

"You mean the sign that said the guy whose funeral Will was attending deserved what he got? And Will too?"

The student simply smiled nervously and nodded. Marc continued:

"I see. Okay." He looked at the other students around him and said: "Thanks for your comments. Will…let's go." And he started pushing at Will's backpack. He then stopped and looked at the girl that made the last comment:

"You know what. You say Will was mean. But he was simply expressing an opinion. Just like the guy with the sign. Why wasn't that guy mean?"

The student went on the defensive: "That man was simply making his religious beliefs known; nothing wrong with that."

Marc looked at Will, who was a bit stunned by what he was hearing. The other students also seemed stunned. Marc replied:

"So because his opinions were quote-unquote religious, Will here simply had to put up with being told it was okay to be raped?"

"I don't believe it was rape. Guys can't get raped. It was just an assault, and a justified one, in my opinion."

The rest of the students were backing off, distancing themselves, most of them just sort of waved goodbye and left. Although some of them looked like they wanted to challenge the girl, but Marc simply shook his head to warn them off. His eyes conveyed a "Thank You but I've got this" message. Marc, looked at Will who by now was registering what this girl was saying and thought he needed to get Will away from there.

Will had come to the "How dare you" point and was just about to lay into the girl, verbally, when Marc spun him around and walked him away. After a while Will stopped and looked at Marc:

"What did you do that for? I can handle myself. I don't always need a referee to handle my problems for me."

Marc simply looked at Will trying to convey as much compassion as he could: "You're right Will, you don't. But, you shouldn't have to go through that crap alone. Besides, I needed to leave fast. If I stayed, I might have started punching. So I needed you with me to keep me calm." That seemed to be the right thing to say. Will just started walking towards the SITE Building, with Marc beside him.

Will was interrupted from his memory by someone who bumped into him while leaving his seat. "Sorry" was all Will could say as he trotted down the stairs.

As Will was about to leave the lecture hall, he heard his professor say: "Will, can I speak with you a moment? Do you have time?"

Will thought it was peculiar that at the end of every class the professor always had something to say to him. This time the professor apparently was not going to buck this trend. He turned around and walked towards Daniel Horvitz.

"Ah, good, Will, first, I wanted to say you did a good job holding your own during the discussion. It's great that you can express your particular experience while keeping in mind the Canadian one."

Will nodded his acceptance of the compliment as his professor soldiered on:

"I also wanted to ask, if you and Sonny have thought about joining Chris and I at our dinner party. It's this Saturday."

Will, frowned, he actually had forgotten all about this party. Sonny had expressed his hope that Daniel would simply forget he had invited them. Will thought" Guess I'll have to tell Sonny his hopes were dashed." He tried to look thoughtful and then stated:

"Actually sir, I've been a little busy this past week, and it kind of slipped my mind."

Will noticed that his professor's demeanor changed slightly. Daniel walked over and gave Will a comforting hug. Will thought that although it was slightly too long a hug, it still felt appropriate, although was that a hand that brushed his bottom? Will wasn't sure.

"I'm sorry Will. That's right, I saw some footage on YouTube. How are you feeling? I must say, your speech, and Sonny's, were very appropriate for the moment. Oh, and isn't the trial happening soon?"

Daniel stepped back but not before he noticed a dark blotch on Will's neck. Will saw his professor's expression change to a more lust-hungry look, but that look only lasted a very short time before it returned to a more compassion-inquiring type of expression, but Daniel did still say:

"I see your relationship with Sonny is progressing. Good for you. Now, I was going to go for a little breakfast. If you aren't doing anything and want to talk, I can be a good listener. And besides, I was allowed access to your student records; you seem to be in line for a double major. You should start thinking about what your honours thesis in IntDev is going to be and who you'd like as an advisor. Sonny can guide you I'm sure; but if you'd like some preliminary advice, I have a few ideas, and as I suggested, it's never too early to start cultivating relationships."

Will noticed that very slight wink, but decided not to react. And professor Horvitz did have a point.

"I was actually going to the LGBT Centre sir…." This of course, was the truth. Will had expressed an interest in helping out with certain advocacy programs. And since the funeral he had had several IMs and e-mails from various groups associated with the Centre asking if he'd be interested in helping. Will however, thought it would be a plausible excuse to refuse the invitation.

"Well, Will I was going to the cafeteria at the UniCentre anyway, so I'll walk you there." Daniel started walking towards the exit and gestured to Will; and Will just could not find an excuse not to follow him.

On the way to the Cafeteria and the LGBT Centre, Will listened to Daniel talk about the honours thesis and the various topics that were now being discussed. Then, Will found himself talking about the trial. He started explaining that it was only really at the beginning stages, they hadn't even entered pleas yet; that the jury section had started, and of course his deposition.

Will felt himself warming to his professor, even though he had heard many stories about him from Sonny. Daniel had tried to thwart Sonny in his ambitions regarding his academic standing, but Sonny was far too good a student and had made too many friends in the department for Daniel's efforts to really stick. It had made Sonny's life difficult for a while though.

When they arrived outside the UniCentre, Will was at a cross-road. He could go down a flight of stairs and head directly to the LGBT Centre, (the more sensible thing to do) or up another flight of stairs and head to the Cafeteria. He opted for the Caf, since he really hadn't had much to eat, and the thought of food had made him hungry.

Will got himself some bacon and eggs and some orange juice. He saw Daniel waiting for him, and thought to himself:

"This guy is being very persistent. I wonder what exactly he's after."

He walked towards him and Daniel indicated a seat in the corner-atrium part of the Cafeteria, overlooking a small open area. And that is when Will saw where they were headed; straight for a red-headed, extremely good-looking guy.

"Will, meet my husband Chris. Chris, this is Will."

Will could see Chris assessing him, with rather hungry eyes. With both these two looking at him like he was some sort of gourmet pizza, Will was getting rather uncomfortable. He never thought of himself as good-looking. Sonny, teased him about it, as did Marc, several times. That he doesn't know the effect he had on people. And truly he didn't Now he just thought people wanted something from him. Something he was only willing to give to one person and that was Sonny.

"So, you are Will. Daniel here has told me quite a bit about you. You've also been all over the net recently. I was sad to hear about your friend Neil. You seemed passionate about him at the eulogy. And Sonny seemed passionate about you. You know that I used to date Sonny, I suppose. Sonny isn't as open about relationships as I would have liked. But you two certainly seem to have hit it off, from what I've heard, and seen." The smile Chris gave Will was mixed with far too much sexual innuendo than Will was comfortable with. He unconsciously put a hand near his hickie. He tried so hard not to blush. His efforts were futile, based on what Chris said next:

"Yes Sonny could be very passionate. I hope you are ready for what he seems to want from you. He could be quite experimental when he wanted to be, in my experience. Just not experimental enough for me." And again that smile.

Will fell silent and started to gulp down his eggs and bacon. He now wished that he had gotten this meal in a to-go container, so he could just leave. But the eggs and bacon were actually really good, and he was hungry. He just hoped he wouldn't regret his gulping too much later-on when his body had to digest all this food at once.

Finally Will finished, and he looked up and realized that both men were just looking at him eat.

"See Chris, you made Will feel uncomfortable. I was hoping you could convince him to join us on Saturday." Daniel looked at Will and said: "Chris was really only kidding Will, I hope you and Sonny can be there."

"Yes Will. I'm sorry to tease you like that. It's just too easy. I promise to stop; at least for now." And he grinned that grin again. And was that a wink?

Will stood up and was about to excuse himself, and say his goodbyes, when someone knocked into him. He turned around to see a rather shy looking guy his age with an envelope in his hand.

"I'm sorry, but you're Will Horton, right? I saw this envelope on the floor in the corner over there…"

The student turned and pointed a little ways to the corner of the room, and continued: "and I thought you might have dropped this." He handed Will the envelope and left.

Will looked at the envelope and his face turned white. It looked very similar to the first envelope he had received. He looked towards the corner again, then started peering around. He must have looked worried. Both Daniel and Chris asked:

"Will. Are you okay?"

Will turned toward Daniel and Chris and very quickly said:

"I'm sorry professor, I... I've… I've got to…. I've got to go."

And Will ran towards the nearest exit.


	20. Chapter 20

**Will's POV**

Will had run out of the first available door. He then ran outside to another door , ran down the stairs and ran to the LGBT Centre. The Centre is usually opened; at the very least, the lounge is. At this time of day, there almost always is someone there. Today however, Will ran into an empty Centre.

He plopped down on one of the sofas, placed his backpack near him and opened the envelope, and read:

"**Dear William, You chose recently to disrespect disciples of Jesus... to thwart God's chosen path and publically affirm your sinfulness. You must repent or suffer punishment. Demons surround you. You must rid yourself of them. It is the only way to start ridding yourself of the demon that resides in you. God has sent angels to help you do this. Repent now… Your Teacher and Savior**"

Will just sat there and stared at the message. This was more than the last message. This was a warning… no this was a threat; and not just a threat to him. This was a threat "demons surrounding him"….Who could that be….Sonny, it had to be and maybe Marc… and possibly some of his other friends and floor mates…. Or maybe it wasn't a real threat… just a way of getting to him.

**"Will"**

Will must have jumped about seven feet up in the air. He heard himself shout. He immediately inwardly cursed: **_"Will. Damn it. Get a hold of yourself" _**He looked saw one of the people he had met on his second visit here, the day he received the first letter. **_"His name is Jason? Yes that's it. Jason. I'm supposed to meet him to discuss one of his projects."_** He thought to himself. **_"Will. Calm yourself."_** And he breathed deeply.

"**Will? Are you okay? Why are you holding that same envelope as last week?" **Will simply looked at Jason, trying to be calm; trying to think. **"It isn't the same one. It's a different one."** Jason sat next to Will, who involuntarily moved back. **"Will. You're scared. Why? What does that letter say? You need to tell somebody!" **Will thought**: ****_"Yes I need to tell somebody." _**He then started to go through his backpack, calmly at first and then more frantically. Jason wanted to put his hand on Will's arm to help him with the backpack; but he thought better of it. Will was obviously in a panic.

**"Will. Please give me the backpack and tell me what you are looking for." **Will looked and saw Jason trying desperately to sound calming, and it was working. He handed Jason his backpack and said: **"iPad and phone. Please." **Jason found the iPad and the phone quite easily and handed it to Will, who took them, with difficulty, since his hands were shaking. He texted Sonny who should have been starting a class about now: **"SK it's WH. R u OK?" **Within seconds Will received a reply**:"yes y? what's wrong W?"**

**_"Oh God, he's okay! But now what do I do? I want him safe; I don't want him running to me_**." He texted back: **"Lover do you trust me?" **Sonny texted back**: "With all my 3" **Will smiled and texted**:"Good. Plz stay put. I'm okay. I'll b in touch soon"**

Will then took his phone and dialed. He received a reply right away: **"Allo. C'est Marc." **Will smiled. Marc always answered that way. Even though he knew exactly who was calling. He always looked at caller ID before answering. **"Marc c'est Will. Look, where are you?" **Will had a fair idea that Marc was out of class, like him; but he had enough trouble keeping track of his own schedule and then Sonny's to also keep track of his roommate's. **"I'm in our room. Why? " **Will didn't want to answer directly. **"No time to talk. Just stay put." **If only Will had enough time to click "end call" before**: "You're at the LGBT Centre. I'll be right there." **And unfortunately Marc was a little quicker clicking the "end call" button.

Will grabbed his iPad next. He activated Skype and tried to ping Justin Kiriakis. It did not take long for Justin to answer. **"Hello Will, what can I do for you?"** Will breathed in: **"Mr. Kiriakis**…" Before Will could continue, Justin interrupted **"Now Will, you've been giving my son hickies; don't you think it's about time you started calling me Justin."**

And to Will's eternal embarrassment, Jason, someone Will had forgotten about, yelled out**: "You rock Mr. Kiriakis!"** Justin, smiling, looked at Will and said: **"I see I keep putting my foot in it. I take it you aren't alone." Will looked daggers at Jason. "No…sir…" **For some reason Will just couldn't say"Justin" just yet: **"He's just a friend. Listen, sir, I need to show you something." **Will took the message and placed it near the screen so that Justin could read it.

As Justin read the message, Will could see Justin's face blanche. **"This is a threat Will, you need to call the authorities." **Jason butted in**: "Already done sir, they should be here any minute**." When Will looked at him questioningly, Jason simply replied:** "What? You aren't the only that has a phone."**

**Marc's POV**

Marc was sitting at the computer, having just come from a political science class, and was just about to log onto FaceBook, when He received a call. He glanced at his phone; it was a call from Will. **_"Wonder why he's calling? Maybe he wants me to volunteer at PFLAG or something"_**, he thought. He knew Will was heading to the LGBT Centre before heading off to his next class.** "Allo. C'est Marc." **He heard Will say**: "Marc c'est Will. Look, where are you?" **The fact that Will wanted to know where he was and the urgency with which he asked, worried Marc. He tried not to let it show too much as he replied:** "I'm in our room. Why?" **And when Will replied back:** "No time to talk. Just stay put." **

Well that did it. Marc knew something was wrong. He immediately said:** "You're at the LGBT Centre. I'll be right there." **He ended the call before Will could say anything else; grabbed his jacket and started to leave the room. As he twirled the jacket to put it on, a small white envelope came out of one of its pockets. Marc looked at it questioningly; he hadn't noticed it before. He picked the envelope up. It had 'William Horton Roommate" Written on the front. This was strange. He opened it and read it:

"**Dear Roommate of William Horton, You chose recently to disrespect disciples of Jesus... you are a DEMON. You are aiding and abetting a known sinner. Be gone with you! We seek only for William to repent his sins. If you aid us in this you will be rewarded in heaven. If you continue on your chosen path it will only lead to your destruction… The Righteous**"

**_" Maudit! Tabarnacle!"_** were his first thoughts. **_"If I got something like this than what did Will get?"_** were his next thoughts. He briefly thought to stay put like Will said; but immediately changed his mind and dashed out of the room. He took the stairs down because he did not want to wait for the elevators and ran out the lobby, across the street and into the UniCentre and reached the LGBT Centre in time to hear Justin Kiriakis saying:

**"Officer. My name is Justin Kiriakis. I am representing Will here is Salem. I am also the father of Will's boyfriend. I am not sure how well you are briefed concerning Will…"**

The officer, who seemed a bit young to Marc, simply stated**:**

**"As we understand it, Will has received at least one ambiguously threatening letter. We are currently investigating, along with the Ottawa Police a link to a particular religious sect. The investigation is ongoing. This is the second threatening note, and by the looks of it, it seems much more overtly threatening"**

Marc couldn't help himself. Although he was slightly out of breath from all that running he simply said: **"Third, well second for Will I guess, whatever it said; and a first one for me.", **as he handed his note to the security officer.

Marc saw Will, who was almost visibly shaking, look at him, a frown full of worry coming across his face; then, turn to the officer and say: **"We need to make sure my boyfriend is okay."** Then he saw Will collapse on the sofa.

**Sonny's POV**

Sonny looked at the time. It was 16:05. Five minutes after Will's last class was scheduled to end, although Will had just texted to say that it let out fifteen minutes ago. He should be here soon. Sonny stopped pacing the floor of Will's room and sat down on Will's bed. Marc, had been simply looking at him with a large smile on his face for the last five minutes. Marc, was smart and didn't say anything. Sonny was not in the mood to be made fun of, right now. When Will walks into his room it will be the first opportunity Sonny has had to see him all day. He'd already talked to Marc and to his father and sent and received a million texts to and from Will; but he needed to see Will; to hold him. So now he simply sat, and reflected on the day:

After Sonny had received the **"SK it's WH. R u ok?" ** and other texts, he was a nervous wreck during the rest of the class. He was about to send another text to Will when a campus security officer walked in, interrupting the professor, about whatever he was saying; Sonny wasn't really paying much attention at the moment. The officer handed the professor a note and left. The professor, after briefly reading the note said to his class: **"Is Sonny Kiriakis here today?" **Sonny lifted his hand and said: **"Here, sir."**

The professor nodded and said: **" Mr. Kiriakis, you are instructed to meet with the officer that has handed me this note after class has finished." **Sonny shot up to a standing position and replied: **"Sir, with all due respect, I'll see him now."** And he started to move towards the door.

The professor shot his hand up and said in a slightly more forceful tone: **"Mr. Kiriaks. I also have a message from your father. It says 'Sonny. Sit down, continue your class and stop worrying. Will is fine. Just meet the officer after class.'"** The professor looked towards Sonny who still wasn't sitting down. The professor continued: **"There is another message from a Will…'I love you. Listen to your father'" **Sonny went back to his seat and sat down.

After class he met with the campus security officer. And was informed about the two notes, and that both Will and Marc were fine and would be escorted to their respective classes today. Sonny wanted to go and see Will right then. The officer said: **"According to your respected schedules"**, which he showed Sonny, **"that would be impossible until 16:00 that afternoon".**

The officer then asked if Sonny had received a note and Sonny said that he hadn't. **"Have you checked your jacket pockets lately?"** asked the officer, who was trying to be thorough. So Sonny checked his pockets and found an envelope with his name on it. He opened it and there was a message:

"**Dear Son of Satan, You chose recently to disrespect disciples of Jesus... you are a DEMON. You have sinned with Will Horton and professed a most unholy love. You must stop! We seek only for William to repent his sins, and for you and Will to turn back to the Lord. If you aid us in this you will be rewarded in heaven. If you continue on your chosen path it will only lead to your destruction… The Righteous**"

**"You have an hour and a half before your next class Mr. Horton, I suggest we go to Security Headquarters. You can talk to your dad and get something to eat.**" Sonny agreed and so they did. As they left the building Sonny said: **"I'm going to enjoy the look on my dad's face when he finds out that he's Satan."**

Sonny smiled at the memory. He also smiled because of what came afterward. Sometimes his father was amazing:

Sonny managed to contact his father via Skype. He showed Justin his note. The Campus Security officers and the Ottawa Police liaison officer on duty took all three notes and analysed them. It was Justin Kiriakis that came up with the most plausible explanation:

"**All three notes are asking for Will to repent of his sins. In my son's note, for some reason they don't want HIM to repent, only Will. And that tells us something, people."**

The officers looked at one another and then at the screen in front of them.

**"As it happens, I received a call from the office of the District Attorney, here in Salem. The DA was inquiring whether or not it was true that Will Horton was planning on retracting his statement. I of course said it was not true. It appears Nick's attorney's might have jumped the gun a little. It also appears that Nick Fallon has a following there in Ottawa."**

Sonny looked dumbfounded at this news. **"Dad, is Nick Fallon still in jail?" **

His father looked stern**: "It appears that the judge hearing the case is reviewing the remand order, on behalf of one of his aunt's, Hope Brady, who is under the impression, that because of her line of work, she could keep her nephew in line. Will is not going to be happy to hear this. She is his aunt as well."**

Sonny was awakened from his reverie by a door opening. Sonny got up and pushed the door so it would open faster. When Will met Sonny's eyes they kissed passionately. Then Sonny led Will to his bed, where they both sat. While taking hold of Will's face and stroking his cheeks Sonny said, a little more harshly than he intended:

**"Will, don't ever do that to me again. Please…."** He kissed Will again. **"We are in this together. You don't have to do this alone." **Will looked into Sonny's eyes with love and tenderness:

**"Sonny, when I received that note, and read what it said, I thought you were in danger. I needed you safe. I love that you wish to protect me, I do. But I am a big boy now, and sometimes I feel better when the people I love are safe."**

Marc, who had stayed out of the conversation as long as he could, could not resist saying:

**"Well, that makes me feel special."**

Both Will and Sonny, who had forgotten that Marc was in the room, turned their heads toward Marc's desk and Will said: **"You should, you annoying dweeb."**

Sonny brought Will's focus back to him as he stood up and said to Marc:

**"Will and I are going for some alone time. Try and stay away." **And he smiled at Marc as he led Will next door to his room for some private time.


	21. Chapter 21

It was now Thursday. An officer from Campus Security or from the Ottawa Police department and sometimes both had been following Will around for going on three days now. Some were in plain sight, and some were shadows. It was a bit embarrassing, but a few of the officers took the opportunity to actually attend some of Will's classes. One such officer was sitting next to him, in his IntDevCan class with Professor Horvitz.

When Daniel walked in the room, he acknowledged Will with a wink. Will had not been looking forward to seeing the professor again, since he wasn't sure how he took Will's abrupt departure. However, the wink told Will that the professor must not have taken it too badly; or he did, but then heard about the reason through the ever-present and very active university gossip grape-vine.

The officer had even gathered the day's notes for Will and for himself, and started taking notes. When the professor commented on it, the officer stated that he was actually in Law school and he'd wanted to take this class, as an undergrad, but it never fit into his schedule.

After class, Will decided not to wait until Prof. Horvitz called him. He simply went up to him and said:

**"Sir, I just wanted to say I'm very sorry about the way I left you…"**

Daniel interrupted Will with a look and a smile: **"Will, for heaven's sake, everyone knows what you went through that morning. I started to go after you, you looked terrified, but I lost you after you turned the corner; so no worries okay?"**

Will thought to himself**: ****_"No worries? Easy for you to say"_**He tried to shake the memory off, but it came to him anyway:

On Wednesday morning Justin e-mailed Will with the news that Nick Fallon had been granted bail and transferred into the custody of his aunt Hope. The jury selection was still underway and so, Nick Fallon left the courtroom with his aunt. He was essentially a free man., at least temporarily.

The temporary measures concerning the three letter-receivers, instead of being suspended, were stepped up. Justin had said that Sonny's great uncle Victor would be acquiring a security team that was eligible to work in Canada and would send it to help guard Sonny, Will and even Marc

When Marc heard the phrase ""even Marc" he commented:

**"Even Marc? I'm thrilled somebody thinks I might be worth saving. "**

Will was less than thrilled at the prospect of being escorted around wherever he went. At least he didn't have to deal with any more people coming up to him with envelopes or anti-gay comments; although, he still had a few students expressing their sincere condolences and outrage concerning what he was going through.

As the day progressed however, Will found himself increasingly more agitated and at the same time rather depressed. He Skyped his Grandma Marlena and she suggested that he should contact his therapist in Ottawa. And when Will groaned at this, Marlena said:

**" Sweet-ling, you know I am always here for you to talk to. But so is Dr. Pinot. You said yourself that he was good, if a bit unorthodox."**

Will conceded that point but added one of his own: **"But Grandma, He's not you." **And Will smiled.

**"Don't you flash that puppy-dog smile at me young man." **And so the conversation went in that vain for a while.

Will couldn't let himself call Dr. Pinot. He knew what was wrong. He didn't need a therapist to analyse it for him. He also didn't want to bug his therapist for this little thing. He was going to see him in two days anyway.

And so, the funk went on. Both Sonny and Marc noticed it. Will hardly ate anything. Will was also rather standoff-ish when it came to physical affection towards Sonny. Sonny had immediately noticed that change from the very first kiss after a long day of classes before they went to eat. He didn't say anything, hoping that Will would snap out of his funk, or at least talk about it.

When the time came when Sonny would ask Wil, simply by standing and holding up his hand, to join him in his room for some alone time, Will looked at Sonny sadly:

**"Sonny, I'm so tired… I'm sorry."**

Sonny looked at Will, crouched down and kissed him on the cheek. Stood up and started for the door.

**"Sonny, what are you doing?"**

Sonny turned to Marc and looked at him incredulously:** "I am giving my boyfriend some space."**

Marc looked at Sonny**: "And you're sure that is what he needs right now?"**

**"It's what he wants. So I'm giving it to him."**

Will, who, was flabbergasted by the fact that they were discussing him as if he weren't there, said to Marc: **"What's wrong with me wanting to be alone for just one night? And what business is it of yours?"**

Marc stood up from his desk chair and walked towards Will**: "You're right. It is none of my business. It is between you and Sonny. But Will, you have always had at least an hour of alone time with Sonny, since I came into the picture anyway, and you know what, I don't know what that entails. I don't know what you do. I do joke about it. But even yesterday, with everything that happened, you spent time alone with Sonny. And when you came back here, you were relaxed and you had the biggest smile on your face. You allowed yourself to be happy. So what is different? Why don't you want that today?"**

Marc turned to Sonny and gave him a look that said:**_"You should be asking that question."_**

Sonny looked at Marc, and was about to say something angry towards him, but he stopped himself. He looked towards Will, whose head was hanging. Will was desperately trying to avoid eye contact with anyone, but especially with Sonny. Sonny crouched down to Will's level, gently grabbed Will's chin and looked into Will's cloudy blue eyes:

**"He's right Will. I should have asked you that. I didn't want to push you. I'm always afraid that if I push you too far, you'll run away and I'll lose you forever. But Marc is right I should ask… there is obviously something wrong… talk to me. "**

Will's eyes started to mist**: "I got an e-mail from your father today saying that Nick is now out on bail. And I'm afraid, Sonny. I'm afraid that somehow he'll come after me. He promised me he would. I was going to ask you to do something with me today. I wanted to be bunnies. But if Nick is free, and comes after me, he'll come after you too. I want you safe Sonny. Whenever I get close to someone something bad happens. "**

When Will wanted to look away again, Sonny pulled his gaze back: **"Will, I won't tell you everything is going to be okay, because I don't know. I don't know Nick like you do. But I love you. And I know you love me. Letting me go is not the answer. We will face whatever it is we will face, together. Together we are stronger."**

Sonny stood up and held out his hand. And this time Will took it. And as they both left hand-in-hand towards Sonny's room, Sonny looked back towards Marc. Sonny's eyes said simply **_"Thank you_****." **But he put on an air of smugness and out loud he said**: "You know the drill", **as Sonny and Will left the room.

Will was jolted out of his memory when Daniel stated: **"No worries? What am I saying? Of course you're worried! Who wouldn't be? What I mean to say is…. It's understandable"**

Will was actually relieved. He wanted a good mark in this class and Sonny said it was a good idea to keep himself on Prof. Horvitz's good side. In order to do that, Sonny said that it would be a good idea to attend the little Horvitz get-together. Sonny had been approached by a few students and some professors, asking whether Sonny would be attending. That was a good indication that the party was not only going to involve the four of them. It had been a worry.

**"Sir, Sonny wanted me to ask you if the invitation to your party on Saturday was still open."**

Daniel simply looked at Will, smiled and said: **"Of course Will, the invitation was never closed. Maybe you can bring that hunk of a bodyguard of yours; Cute and smart; a lethal combination."**

Will tried to look serious**: "I really don't have control over who I'm assigned to. I'm hoping it will be to no one by then." **That was Will's hope; but he knew his hopes will probably be dashed. The police had leads concerning the four threatening notes apparently, but no one was sharing information with him. And then of course there was the situation with Nick Fallon. Will cringed inwardly again, although there was also a hint of a smile, as he remembered:

Will and Sonny were lying on Sonny's bed. They entered the room in silence. They sat down in silence. For the longest time Will simply stared into Sonny's beautiful chocolate brown eyes, absorbing the love and compassion, the heat and the coolness of those eyes. And then Will kissed Sonny, gently and firmly. He stood up and said to Sonny:

**"I need to show you something. Something I have been avoiding to show you. Although you might have already seen it; since I know you have tried to look and touch every inch of me."**

And then Will pulled down his jeans and his underwear and placed himself in an incredibly vulnerable position, exposing an intimate orifice; and mentioned for Sonny to come forward and look. And that is when Sonny saw the tear. It was still very pink, and had little marks from stitches. It was healing. And then very near, he saw several more little tears. These were the marks of violence; marks that will be forever a reminder of fear and hatred. These marks were healing; the psychological marks would take a little longer. Will straightened up, and pulled his underwear and jeans back up, turned around and looked at Sonny.

Sonny was crying. Tears had formed and were rolling down his cheeks. Will bent down to Sonny, gazed deeply into his eyes and said:

**"Those scars are healing. Some scars…"** and he pointed to his head **"…will take a little longer. But I promise you that they will heal and that you will be there to see them heal. You have helped me so much Sonny; more than I can ever express to you,"**

He brought a hand to Sonny's cheeks and wiped away the tears.** "I promise you Sonny, I will never shut you out like I did. Ever again." **He was about to bring his lips to Sonny's when they both heard a knocking on the inside door. And a voice, Marc, saying**: "Guys, I told them all to wait, but they won't. You need to both come out. I'm sorry."**

Will and Sonny came out of their sanctuary and into Sonny's Leader's lounge. And there standing with Marc were several officers. One of whom looked stern and worried. He looked at Will and said: "**Will I'm sorry to interrupt you but you need to be informed of something. A few hours ago a group of people stormed your aunt Hope's apartment and Nick Fallon has escaped custody"**

Will was shocked. He also learned that there was a statewide APB out on Nick and all major airports and railway and bus stations in the area had been notified. Will simply asked:

**"Is my Aunt Hope okay?"**

He was told that she had been hurt, but was in stable condition at a hospital in Salem. Will's fears were coming true; Nick was coming for him.

Will was only slightly startled by Daniel saying**: "People should be arriving by 14:00. Please don't feel like you need to bring anything. Sonny of course knows where I live, so see you then." **And Will looked at Prof. Daniel Horvitz, smiled and said**: "We'll be there." **At least he hoped they would.


	22. Chapter 22

**Sonny's POV**

Sonny was walking towards the University Medical Centre to pick up Will. He was not really walking alone. Since he did not have any classes and was not scheduled to go anywhere today, no uniformed officer was assigned to him. Some plain clothes were apparently tailing him at a distance and his father informed him that his Uncle Vic's men were also keeping their distance, as they were instructed to do by local law enforcement. Sonny knew that both Will and Marc did have escorts since Marc (poor guy) had a class today and Will had his appointment with Dr. Pinot.

Sonny was walking across the parking lot near Vanier Hall, about half way to the centre when he noticed an all too familiar face walking towards him: Max. He slowed down and looked around trying to find a way to pass him by without being seen. Damn it. No luck. Max was walking straight for him. Actually swaggering might be a better description. Sonny decided to swerve to the right and try to evade him. No luck there either. Max turned and again headed straight for him.

Sonny stopped in his tracks and waited for Max to join up with him. He tried to make his demeanor as unwelcome looking as he possibly could manage without looking menacing. When Max reached him, sonny said:

**"Hello Max. What do you want, since you obviously want to talk to me?"**

Max, looking as arrogantly smug as ever, went up to Sonny and tried to give him a hug. Sonny rebuffed him**. "Max, please tell me what you want. I have to be someplace quite soon." **

Max frowned, looked at Sonny, mock-pouted and said, in the most sarcastic tone he could muster. **"Let me guess. Super-model had a class and you have to escort the poor downtrodden super-cutie back home because everyone is afraid for his safety." **Sonny simply shrugged and said:** "Something like that"**

Sonny tried to pass Max one more time without success. Max grabbed Sonny by the arm to stop him: **"Sonny, What do you see in William Horton anyway? He's so dependent. How can you stand that? Wouldn't you rather be with someone more independent?" **Sonny frowned:** "What? You mean like you? I've told you over and over Max…There is no us, never was…never will be."**

Max looked like he was going to say something, decided against it, shrugged, and said:** "Fine Sonny, the real reason I wanted to talk to you was that I have some information about those letters you guys received and who was responsible for sending them. My guy is an insider that wants out but wants to talk to you first." **Sonny looked at Max and simply said:** "Where is he?"**

**Max's POV**

Max had been waiting for Sonny for some time now. He had been informed that Sonny would be picking up his current boy-toy sometime around noon. Why they couldn't be more precise than that was beyond Max. But he didn't care. He wanted to give Sonny one last chance to redeem himself and then he would let the cards fall where they may. Sonny was his. He had wanted Sonny from the instant they met. And Max always gets what he wants. If Sonny needed a little lesson before he came to his senses then so be it.

Where he needed to lead Sonny, so they would be relatively out-of-the-way, wasn't very far at all; just across the parking lot and into that overhang tunnel linking the parking lot to Lamoureux Hall. When they reached the door, Max put his hand on it; preventing Sonny from opening it just yet.

**"You sure you want to do this Sonny. I mean, we could go back to my place; have a little fun, and forget about the letters and your cutesy-face Adonis of a boy-toy. Even if it's just for a while"**

Sonny simply glared at Max:** "Max, just open the door." **And so, Max shrugged and then he opened the door.

**Will's POV**

Will sat on the couch opposite Dr. Pinot. His second session with the doctor had started out fairly ordinarily. Dr. Pinot sat down, after indicating Will to sit; which he did. Then Dr. Pinot asked a pretty normal question:" **So Will, you've had a pretty busy week. Care to talk about it?" **And Will did. He talked about the funeral. He talked about receiving the letters. He talked about tortoises turning to koala bears but not to bunnies, yet.

Dr. Pinot was very interested in bunnies, especially the yet part. He looked at Will, who seemed to be getting a bit uncomfortable: **"Will, you've told me that you and Sonny are becoming more intimate. And that Sonny is taking it slow. You seem to want to go faster, why?"**

Will shrugged: **"I love Sonny. I want to express it."** The doctor simply voiced an **"hmmmmmm",** so Will went on: **"And being bunnies, full on intercourse, seems the way to do it." **Dr. Pinot looked at Will with what Will termed his analytical face. His Grandma Marlena had one of those. The doctor simply said**: "Will you know that isn't true. Plenty of gay people never have anal sex. And don't you think it's a bit soon for you to even try?"**

Will knew Dr. Pinot was right. In fact his other doctors had told him he should stay away from that kind of activity for at least six months and so he had a few months to go. But doctors aren't always right, all the time. With that in mind Will said: **"I know the other doctors want me to wait. But if I feel it's right, shouldn't I act on it?" **Dr. Pinot merely nodded. Anticipating his next question Will said: **" I showed him my scars." **Again, Dr. Pinot merely vocalized an** "Hmmmmm?" **and so Will continued:** "That night the police showed up at the dorm. I had just finished showing Sonny my scars" **Will heard an** "And?" **And he expounded**: "He cried**." And knowing that Dr. Pinot would not just be satisfied with that Will continued**: "After the police left; when we were alone again; I asked him about it. He told me he cried because I trusted him enough to be that vulnerable with him; but also because those scars were a mark of my past. A mark representing something that Sonny wanted to help me get past. And he was willing to do it." **

Will noticed a frown developing on Dr. Pinot's face so he hastily added: **"No doc, no bunnies. Yesterday, Sonny massaged the area around my scars, very, very gently." **Dr. Pinot's eyebrow went up:** "And how did that go?" **Will simply sighed and said:** "I had a flashback" **and again before Dr. Pinot could react to that, Will stated:** "Sonny told me to look into his eyes while he massaged me. He could see me reacting. He simply said to me 'Will, I love you, who do you see?' And I said 'You. I only see you.'"**

Dr. Pinot's face lit up with compassion: **"Sonny is rather remarkable." **And before Will could answer an affirmative, there was a knock on the door. And a nurse walked in**." Dr. Pinot, I'm sorry to interrupt, but there are men outside insisting they be allowed to talk to Will. It is concerning a Sonny." **Both Will and Dr. Pinot practically knocked the nurse over on their way out the door.

**Sonny's POV**

Sonny walked into the staircase leading up to the tunnel. He was immediately surrounded by several people who began pushing him. One such person punched Sonny in the stomach, forcing him to buckle to his knees. Before things got out of hand and before Sonny had a chance to start defending himself, he heard a voice saying: **"Hold."** The people surrounding him stepped back.

Sonny recognized that voice and when he recovered enough breath he whispered harshly: "Thomas Belford…I knew you had to have something to do with this." Sonny looked around. Most of the people surrounding him wore masks. Including the one he identified as Thomas. Sonny continued: **"Seems like your sort likes to hide behind masks, not just your precious Bible."**

When one of the masked individuals stepped forward, the speaker told him to stop. He then addressed Sonny:** "Sonny Kiriakis, you had been warned; a warning that you chose to disregard. Our saviour has demanded that we not punish you until he could himself be present. We will bring yout to a safe place where you will be judged. You can come with us voluntarily or we can force you, your choice."**

Sonny chose to respond by leaping to his feet and starting to punch anything and everyone he possibly could. He was hit from behind; but before he went down he managed to open the door behind him. And that, as the saying goes, is when all hell broke loose.

**Wills POV**

Will arrived, with his escorts, at the Ottawa Police Main Headquarters on Catherine Street. They led him up to the second level; then into a room. And there was Sonny; safe and sound, speaking to a detective.

Sonny was busy discussing the events of the morning when he suddenly stopped talking, stood up, turned around and was immediately embraced by Will who had started practically running towards him. Will hugged him, grabbed his hair, and processed to give what Sonny would later describe as the best kiss he'd ever had, at least until then.

And when Will disengaged himself from Sonny, he stepped back and gave Sonny a rather heavily swung punch in the shoulder, all the while saying: "Sonny! What the hell were you thinking?" Sonny grinned and replied: **"I wasn't in any real danger Will. It's not like they would have many weapons. This is Canada." **Will looked at Sonny, grimaced and spoke incredulously**: "What the hell happened?" **And Sonny told him.

**Sonny's POV**

Sonny was aware that he had to get the door open. If he did he knew he would be okay. He saw someone coming at him with some sort of syringe. As he punched and kicked his way to the door he could see that most people didn't really have the stomach for fighting with him. He spun around and kicked at the horizontal door bar and the door swung open. That is when someone punched his shoulders from behind with such strength that it forced him again to his knees.

That however turned out to be a good thing. Because several people in suits carrying what looked to be billy-clubs including a few campus officers, stormed in through the door. Quite a few people had run up the stairs to try and escape through the tunnel, and lose themselves in the building. Most people were rounded up within minutes, including Thomas Belford and Max.

Will's POV

Listening to Sonny's story made Will feel a little numb: **"So you are telling me that you had a vid-cam on your jacket and you filmed the whole thing? Why didn't you tell me? And why weren't any officers assigned to you? **" Will was trying to contain his anger. He knew that he was only angry because of the stress of the situation. There really was no use taking it out on anyone, especially Sonny.

Sonny grinned and said: **"Sorry babe, I really am; but the police and my Uncle Vic's men all said that if they saw one of us walking alone, they might try something. I didn't know they would try something so quickly and I certainly didn't know who was involved."**

Will looked through the glass to see the large group of students being interrogated. He turned towards an officer and said:** "So , all these people are involved, and so far no one is able to finger the person behind all this?" **The officer shook his head:** "We will get to the bottom of this" **Will turned back and under his breath said**: "It has to be Nick." **

He looked across the faces of what looked like mostly bewildered and shame-faced students. And then he saw Max. He was standing, smug, as if he were expecting to be released at any moment. Will wanted to wipe that smug look off his face. In fact he wanted to do more than that. He walked up to Max who recognized him and so about to say something; something most likely rude and obnoxious, when Will swung his knee out and hit Max squarely in the groin. Will walked back to where Sonny and the officers stood; some open mouthed; some smiling, and some beginning to belly laugh. "Sorry, my knee must have slipped."

After a few minutes Max must have recovered because he started shouting: **"Did you not see that? I want that boy-toy arrested! Now!" **Will could see that Sonny was about to confront Max. He put a hand on Sonny's shoulder and said**: "Allow me babe" and he marched right back towards Max who, when he saw who was approaching him began to shout: "When my lawyer gets here I will have you arrested! You don't know who you are dealing with. My dad will have their jobs if they don't arrest you!"**

Will just smirked:** "Max you really don't know how much trouble you are in do you? You were involved in an attempted kidnapping, Max; did you not know that? And by the way, if your lawyer wants to talk to my lawyer, he can; it's Sonny's father by the way. My grandfather, a Police Captain in Salem, happens to be friends with the Ottawa Police Chief; known each other for years, apparently. Oh and Sonny's great Uncle Vic, he knows the US ambassador to Canada. I believe they are sending a representative here soon. I warned you to back off. Now you are screwed. Sorry about the knee-slip though, my knee tends to jerk forward when I'm agitated."**

Will walked back to Sonny, who was smiling from ear-to-ear. Will stopped in front of him and said:** "Don't think for a second Sonny, that I'm through with you." **He stopped, looked at Sonny grinning at him and continued:** "Oh hell, I'll punish you later." **And Will proceeded to plant another fervent and passionate kiss on Sonny's lips. A kiss Sonny would later describe as the second best kiss he'd ever had, so far.


	23. Chapter 23

Ii was late Friday night. Quite a few students from Sonny and Will's floor decided to go out together. They would go bar hopping across the river in Gatineau, where the legal age was eighteen. Sonny and Will, after a rather short debate, which mainly consisted of a single look between the two of them, decided to stay in.

They watched a movie in the lounge, along with a few others, mostly those who weren't eighteen yet; there were some who said they just weren't in the mood for the bar scene. Afterward, Sonny stood up and held out his hand to Will who took it gently, with a smile on his face. They walked, calmly, to Sonny's room. Sonny gestured for Will to open the door to his private space.

When Will opened the door he was almost blinded by the light of a few dozen scented candles lighting the room; candles of various shapes and sizes. On Sonny's bed, which was stripped of its normal blanket, there was a white sheet covered in rose petals.

Will turned around, grasped Sonny's head, and said: **"My God, Sonny it's beautiful? But… Why?"**

Sonny simply grinned, a most glorious grin and whispered: **"It's been two beautiful weeks since God, or the Fates or whomever, blessed me by bringing you into my life."**

Overwhelmed with happiness and love, Will put his elbows on Sonny's shoulders, now a familiar gesture, to draw himself closer to Sonny. Then almost instantly his lips locked with Sonny's, and their tongues danced a private and intimate dance. They shared each other's breath-force for a rather long time.

Eventually they detached from one another, but still maintained contact; physically, as well as through each other's gaze. Will looked around again and smiled, his blue eyes shining like emeralds, and asked Sonny: **"What brought all this on?"** Sonny smiled in his turn, his brown eyes taking on the feel of soft velvet and melted chocolate. He replied: **"It was something Dr. Pinot said."** They resumed their kiss, all the while relishing in a shared memory:

It was late Friday afternoon. Sonny and Will were back to where they started at the beginning of the day; well at least for Will: in Dr. Pinot's office. As was the case this morning, the session started off ordinarily. Dr. Pinot gestured for Sonny and Will to sit on the couch. They sat together, hand in hand, Dr. Pinot took note of that mentally, and smiled.

**"Thank you Will for coming back here for another visit, and thank you Sonny for joining him." **He turned towards Will to address him directly**: "I got a call from your grandmother Will, saying that they apprehended some people that are suspected, and it is pretty much proven, they were responsible for the notes that you, Sonny and your roommate received."**

Dr. Pinot then included Sonny in his gaze:** "I was asked by the Ottawa Police Department to help both of you deal with what happened today and with what will be happening in the near future. You both might be asked to help the police and the Crown Attorney's Office in their efforts to get at who was truly behind these events and more specifically, to find out where Nick Fallon is now."**

Dr. Fallon paused a bit and then continued:** "This might be rather difficult, especially for you Will. It will be emotionally draining. I am offering to counsel the both of you together at first and separately if needed, on a daily basis for the time being. You may think you don't need it now. You may never need it. But it has been my experience that talking through things always helps in the long run."**

Dr. Pinot paused again and smiled, then became rather academic and analytical looking: **"Now, since I have you both together again, I need to touch on something that Will and I discussed this morning. I only bring this up, Will, because I know you've talked about this with Sonny before. So here goes... Bunnies."**

Sonny frowned. He was rather uncomfortable discussing this subject with someone who basically was a total stranger, at least to him. **"What about them",** he said reluctantly. Dr. Pinot simply smiled: **"Will would like you and him to be like bunnies"** Sonny frowned: **"I am aware"** The unspoken part of that verbalization was: **_"What is your point?"_**

Dr. Pinot smiled again, and again continued: **"Will, do I have your permission to continue?"** Will nodded an affirmative. Sonny could see Will's cheeks redden to an almost crimson glow. **"Sonny, because of the assault on Will, if you are to be intimate, you both need to protect yourselves. Will is still undergoing testing in case of any transmission of STIs."**

Sonny's eyes went wide.** "You mean Will might be…." **Dr. Pinot anticipating this reaction replied:** "There is only a small chance of any STI transmission. But testing is still required. Protecting yourself against STIs is essential." **Sonny could not contain his anger:** "If anything happens to Will, I'll kill the bastard"**

Dr. Pinot smiled:** "Sonny, I am not betraying any confidences if I express to you , because I'm sure you know already, Will would like to be a lot more intimate with you. You both might try to find ways to express this without having to resort to acting like bunnies. I can give you both a few pointers… If you like."**

Sonny became almost as crimson as Will:** "Not necessary Doc. I think I've got it covered."**

Both Sonny and Will broke away from their shared-yet-separate reverie. Sonny released Will in order to grab his shirt; he started to unbutton it. Will took the opportunity to do the same to Sonny. When Sonny had finished unbuttoning Will's shirt he stepped back to admire Will's chest. He sighed. Will was just so beautiful.

Will had done the same. He loved how Sonny's shirt draped over Sonny's nipples, causing them to twitch almost imperceptively. Will also sighed and said: **"I can't believe someone as gorgeous as you would want someone like me." **Sonny's eyes widened instinctively; his first thought was just to shout**_"Are you kidding me? Look at you!"_**But he didn't He simply smiled and went towards one of his first presents for Will that evening that were located on or near the bed.

This first present was on his dresser. He picked it up and showed it to Will. It was a mirror. **"Will, lover, you don't really see yourself do you? I think you need to. I want to help you do that." **He positioned himself behind Will and hugged him tightly. Then he raised the mirror so that it showed both Will and Sonny's faces. He could see Will's blue eyes shining back at him. He whispered in Will's ear, taking a little nibble in the process: **"No my lover, look at yourself and see what I see."** He then let go of Will's waist and used his free hand to lightly skim Will's skin, slowly, gently; from his forehead to his cheeks; touching his lips; giving a little poke on his nose; all the while saying: **"Follow my fingers, baby. See what I see. Feel what I feel."**

As Sonny's touch got lower, fewer clothes remained on Will. And Sonny took off an article of clothing to match. Sonny led Will to the bed and laid him down, all the while showing Will his own features, his beautiful glorious body, inch by inch, by candlelight. Once on the bed Sonny used a rose petal to lightly tickle Will's skin. Every once in a while Sonny would notice Will looking at him and he would whisper: **"Aha Will, my lover, no cheating." **And Will would sometimes whisper back:** "I'd rather look at you. You are perfect." **Sonny grinned and shook his head**: "Will, no one is as perfect as you are. Not even me." **And Sonny received a very light poke on his chest.

As Will lay on his back and Sonny lay beside him, Sonny reached down into a bucket and grabbed some ice. He then laid the mirror down and grabbed the closest of the candles. He hovered the ice above Will's belly-button and little drops of water fell unto Will's sensitive skin. He then let the candle hover. He could see Will's eyes go a little wide: **"Do you trust me, lover?" **and Sonny saw Will nod. He then tilted the candle ever so slightly and watched as a little droplet of wax fell next to Will's damp skin. He heard Will gasp.

Sonny's smile grew even larger as he anticipated what he was about to do next. He looked at will and whispered: **"Will, how much do you trust me?"** and Will replied, without any hesitation whatsoever: **"With my everything."**

And so, Sonny hovered the ice just above Will's "little friend", who was standing up straight, very much at attention in this moment. He let a few drops of water slide between his fingers and, as they landed on Will, Will gasped again. Sonny then very quickly, but calmly and surely, let just a little wax slant out of the candle and as the wax landed on Will's "little friend", he did not gasp. He did let out, however, a rather loud **"Oh My God!"**

Will shot up and grabbed Sonny by the nape of the neck and pulled Sonny towards him. Sonny, in that split second, managed to blow out the candle, so it wouldn't become a fire hazard, and let the momentum of Will's grasp pull himself towards Will.

As Will's lips met Sonny's, Sonny could sense the fire and the wanting, the feverish energy that Will had been containing, spill out and engulf them both. Simultaneously, he let his own feverish energy flow among them both; their energies intertwining, and building up; hands caressed, searched and gnawed the other's body. Sonny's and Will's "little friends" played a dance; an eternal tango; a sword game played by others throughout the ages; yet would not and could not be compared. The uniqueness of the dance was what kept both young men engaged for what seemed liked hours. They were not simply having sex. They were making love. This expression of their love had no match.

As Sonny and Will lay temporarily spent, in each other's arms; Will with his head on the nape of Sonny's neck; Sonny could not resist letting out a spontaneous: **"I love you, Will. "** Will simply grinned, looked up towards his lover, smiled, his eye-brows arched, his head tilted, in what Sonny recognized as Will's deliberate sexy-pose. **"How much do you love me Sonny?"** Sonny laughed and said: **"With my everything."** Will grabbed Sonny's neck, pulled his lips towards Sonny's, and their dance resumed.

Again, after what seemed like an eternity of loving energy flowing, both Sonny and Will lay again, spent and exhausted. Will started to lift himself up and turn to get off the bed. Sonny grabbed Will's arm to stop him.**" And where are you going, Lover?**" Will turned towards Sonny, an expression of regret thrown across his face. **"I need to go back to my room Sonny. Marc will eventually come back and he might get worried. I would like nothing less than to stay with you all night, but…I don't want police showing up at your door…again."** Will grinned, started to get up again and was again stopped. **"Will, Marc will not be wondering where you are. We had a talk before he left and I also left him a note. He told me to tell you 'See you at breakfast'". **Sonny grinned and then gave Will a longingly playful puppy-dog look.** "Please stay with me."**

Will lay himself down next to Sonny, curling up to him, allowing a leg to rest on Sonny's hip and thigh. They stayed this way until both, tired and spent, their energies flowing among the candles that were slowing burning out, fell asleep in each other's arm; the first night they spent completely alone together with absolutely no interruptions whatsoever.


	24. Chapter 24

Sonny and Will were escorted to the door of Daniel and Chris' apartment. It was just after 14:00 hours and already both Sonny and Will have had a rather busy day. As they both waited, a little nervously, for the door to open, they both thought of the day they both had so far:

It started out with Sonny waking Will up very early, with licks and kisses. **"Hello, my sleepy lover, I know it's really early, but if we want to get done everything we need to get done today, we need to get up soon."** Will stirred, and stretched, grabbed Sonny, pulled him close and kissed him. **"What time is it?"** he asked. **"It's 7:30. Early I know. We should get up and shower, and maybe have some breakfast. Someone will pick us up in an hour and drive us to the police station. Are you still up for that?" **Will sat up shook himself and smiled:** "With you there, I can do anything." **Sonny jumped out of bed, reached his arm out to Will who automatically took his hand. Sonny yanked, causing Will to slide out of bed. Sonny patted Will on the behind and said**: "Put your underwear and shirt on to get to your room, lover-boy. We don't need to give our floor mates a free-show." **Will laughed**: "Will anyone even be up yet?"**

After Sonny knocked on the door it didn't take long for it to open. Daniel Horvitz answered the door. He was wearing a rather snazzy looking blazer, white shirt, and dark jeans. From the look he gave both Sonny and Will he was genuinely glad to see them. He looked at the escorts: "**You're welcome to case the place if you like. Especially you sweet-pea**", he said, with a wink, to the rather good-looking younger of the three suites. The older of the escorts simply said rather seriously**: "If you don't mind sir, I think we will."** All three proceeded to enter and make sure the area was safe for their charges. Daniel then turned his attention to Sonny and Will. He eyed both of them with rather close attention. Sonny and Will were both wearing Dark blazer-jackets, V-neck jerseys and dark jeans. Sonny's jersey was dark purple, matching his colouring and Will's jersey was the colour of his eyes.

**"Well you both are looking spiffy today. And Will you look rather relaxed. That is good to see." **Will laughed inwardly at this. It happened to be very similar to what Marc had said to him this morning:

Will walked into his room as silently as he could muster. He gathered up his clothes and his toiletries, so he could have a quick shower. It apparently wasn't silent enough, because as he gathered up the last of his stuff he heard Marc stir. Will turned around to see a rather disheveled looking Marc stretching: **"Marc you look like a Mack-truck struck you last night, several times over."** Marc frowned: **"I feel like a Mack-truck has struck me several times over. Isn't it great?!"** Marc then grinned from ear to ear. As Will was shaking his head in disbelief, Marc was noticing what Will was wearing, which wasn't really much of anything. **"Oh my God! You spent the night! So! Bunnies?!" **And Marc started laughing at Will's rather uncomfortable red-faced expression. **"No Marc, no bunnies. It was so much freakin' better than bunnies!"** Marc shot out of bed and started gathering stuff for a shower: **"Better than bunnies? Is that even possible? Oh do tell Horton! But keep it PG-13 for my non-gay virgin ears." **Will buddy-punched Marc as they walked out of the room towards the showers.

Will smiled at his professor as he walked in the apartment hand-in-hand with Sonny. **"Thank you professor, it's been a rather rough week or so, but Sonny has helped me a lot. "**Will spun around and gave Sonny a peck on his cheek. Just then, the three suits came towards the entrance: **"All clear Mr. Kiriakis and Mr. Horton. We'll be close by."** And, they left the apartment. Daniel looked posteriorly, as he said: "**Shame they couldn't stay."** He gestured for Will and Sonny to walk towards the living room.

Sonny glanced around. There were hors-d'oeuvres platters in strategic locations; the seating arrangements were changed to accommodate several more people than normal. The problem was that there were no other people. Sonny started feeling uncomfortable. It seems as if he had been in a situation like this before, where everything seemed normal, and then wasn't Sonny thought it kind of reminded him of this morning:

Sonny and Will arrived at the police station at around officer showed them to an office where a detective Harold Whitman was waiting for them. He had a rather rough demeanor; at least it seemed so in the beginning. He gestured for Sonny and Will to sit and then, it seemed to Sonny, he started to interrogate them:

**"So the two of you seem to be responsible for the big mess of young people that have been traipsing around the station since yesterday; Bunch of crack-pot religious nuts, eh? "** He started pacing around the room. **"I've been told that the two of you could help shed some light onto the case, eh. So what do you two have to do with all this?"** Sonny just shrugged: **"Sorry sir, I've no clue. They seem intent on saving Will's soul for some reason." **The detective turned his attention towards Will : **"So… What is so special about your soul, son?**" Will shrugged: **" Sir, According to some people, we gays have no soul. I have no idea. I think it has less to do with my soul and more to do with my case against Nick Fallon."**

The detective simply went: **"hmmmm"** and then shook his head. **"Well a young man named Thomas Belford is very interested in talking to you, Will. Do you know him?"** Will shook his head **"No". **

**"I see… wonder what the connection is then…"** Sonny realized he needed to speak up: **"Sir, Thomas Belford was supposed to be Will's original roommate until I intervened."** The detective then focused on Sonny: **"I see…then you are the missing link as they say. Is it a revenge thing?"**

The detective waited for a response: **"Sir, with all due respect… how should I know? He and his parents seemed intent on making Will's life miserable, if Thomas stayed Will's roommate. I intervened." **The detective nodded: **"I see. So maybe Thomas found out you were fooling around with Will and decided to take revenge. Were you two fooling around at that time?"**

Will had just about enough of this. He stood up and faced the detective: **"I don't see the relevance… to you or to this Thomas guy. My relationship with Sonny is my business. And if you all don't like it… well… tough." **The detective smiled and said: **"You'll do. Okay… if you both will come with me we have a suspect to interrogate." **And he indicated the way to the interrogation rooms.

Will also looked around his professor's apartment and noticed that they were the only guests to have arrived. He thought that was strange since they were a little late and said so: **"Ummm…Professor Horvitz… where is everyone?" **The professor smiled and indicated that Will and Sonny should sit. They decided to sit together on a couch, hand-in-hand and Will was extremely close to Sonny, on purpose. **"Well, to be honest Will, I exaggerated the time to you. People will be arriving in about 30 minutes. I was hoping to have a few minutes to talk… to Sonny."** He turned to Sonny, who was getting a bit agitated and was almost half way off the couch. **"Just to talk Sonny; and, if you notice, Chris is staying away. We never really talked Sonny. Can we, please? Just talk. "**

**"Fine Daniel, we'll talk. But I'd like Chris here, actually. He needs to explain a few things. And Will stays where he is." **Sonny sat back down and pulled Will so close to him, Will practically ended up on Sonny's lap. Daniel called for Chris to come into the living room.

As Chris appeared, Sonny leaned forward and said: **"Okay Daniel, what exactly is it you want to tell me?"** Will thought that this situation reminded him a bit about what happened that morning with Thomas:

The detective opened the door to the interrogation room. Sonny walked in first; then Will did. The detective came in last. Thomas was sitting on a fold-up a chair with a small table in front of him. Thomas was handcuffed to the table. Sonny thought this seemed a little weird because Thomas could easily just walk off with the table in hand, it seemed so light.

Thomas had been staring into space; but when the door opened and Sonny and Will walked in his demeanor changed. With Sonny his expression was one of contempt. When he saw Will it became a mixture; contempt mixed just a little bit… with fear.

The detective strolled in and plunked himself on a chair in front of Thomas and indicated for Will and Sonny to stand along one of the walls. He took out what looked like a phone and pressed a few buttons: **"Alright, interview #32345A-34AS6 resuming…."** He then eased into his chair, crossed his legs and sighed: **"So Thomas… we got what you wanted. Mr. Horton is here. We brought Mr. Kiriakis along for moral support. Hope you don't mind too much…" **The detective shifted in his seat:** "I would like to remind you Thomas that you do have a right to an attorney…" **Thomas cut him off:** "Don't need one. God is the only one that has a right to judge me. I am doing his work. I'll be just fine."**

Will looked at Thomas. He seemed so ordinary. He was wearing a prison style jumper at the moment, but other than that he seemed like he could be just like anyone else. Exempt for the eyes. Even through the glasses Will could see those wild eyes that were now staring at him. No one spoke for what seemed like the longest time.

It was Sonny who broke the silence: **"Thomas why are we here? What do you want?" **Thomas simply looked at Sonny, contempt still brazenly obvious on his face:** "You, I could not care any less about. It is a shame that our Saviour's plan will have to be changed but we will deal with it. "**He turned towards Will and his face became a mask :** "I need to give you a message Will."**

Will stepped forward and said**: "What does Nick want to tell me, now?" **Thomas looked perplexed:** "Who**?" he said. And then his expression changed. You could see he knew who Will was talking about. The detective saw it; and so did Will. **"Nick Fallon, your 'Saviour'**, said Will, as he gestured with air-quotes. **"What does my rapist want to tell me?"**

Daniel grabbed Chris' hand as Chris sat down beside him: **"Sonny we never really got a chance to talk about what happened that evening, and the reasons behind it. I get why you were angry. You felt betrayed. I get that too. But really all I wanted, and Chris too, was to get you involved in us." **Sonny was about to say something but Daniel soldiered on: **"Sonny. It wasn't meant as a one-night stand thing. I made no secret to Chris that I felt something for you. That time we spent together in Uganda. You were a great comfort to me. And I am glad I got to know you and I always wished we could have had more. And then I met Chris. And I fell in love with him. But I always had you in the back of my mind. "**

It was Chris that continued: **"Sonny, I wanted to meet the person that Daniel was so hung up about. And I did. And you were an amazing guy, just like Daniel said. I thought maybe we could forge a bond, which we did. I thought we could create a bond between the three of us. Unconventional yes, but these kinds of relationships are not uncommon among people like us. I just went about it in the wrong way"**

Sonny looked at Daniel and Chris and then said:** "That was a bit of an understatement." **Sonny thought of all the shouting that went on that night and then the reprisals that came later. Sonny had to fight to keep his good standing in the programme. It had been a bit of a nightmare. Daniel could see Sonny's expression and guessed what he was thinking: **"I was disappointed and embarrassed and then I became a bit of a jerk. Okay, a gigantic jerk. But Sonny, I really want us to get past this. And you seem very content at the moment with Will here. Can't we please let bygones be bygones?"**

Will almost laughed at his professor's last statement. It was very close to the message Thomas Belford wanted to impart to him:

Thomas Belford looked at Will and grimaced: **"First of all, what this Nick Fallon did to you cannot be considered rape. Rape is defined as when a man takes a woman's virtue by force. Since a man cannot take away the virtue of another man it cannot be rape." **Thomas looked around to see what reaction he was getting. He found that the detective remained detached, Sonny was fuming and Will was ready to attack. Slightly fearful, he continued:** "What our saviour would like to impart to you Will is basically to let bygones be. As a sinner, if you repent, you will be saved…" **

Will could not take any more of this. He shot right in:** "Let me guess; I could demonstrate my repentance by asking the DA in Salem to drop the charges against Nick Fallon. Would that satisfy your saviour enough to make him and his followers leave me alone?"**

Thomas smiled: **"That would be a good start."** He said. Will shook his head, leaned forward towards Thomas and said, with a hint of anger in his voice: **"That is not going to happen."** He straightened, look at the detective and then at Sonny: **"I need a break."** Then he left the room.

Sonny looked at Daniel and was about to say something when they were all interrupted by a doorbell sounding ring**. "Well, that will be the other guests arriving."** Chris got up off the couch and headed towards the door. Daniel leaned in and said: **"Sonny, mull it over. We'll talk about this later. I'm glad you came and I'm glad you're thinking about it."** Sonny was taken aback by this: "**What makes you think that Daniel?" ** Daniel looked at Sonny and at Will, who was holding onto Sonny's hand very tightly: **"Because, you are both still here." **And Daniel got up to greet his guests.


	25. Chapter 25

**"Well Sonny, Do you want to go or stay? I'll leave that decision to you" **said Will, who still held Sonny's hand tightly. Sonny smiled at Will: **"Will, I wanted us to come for socio-academic reasons. Those reasons still stand. I want to introduce you to people. I want to show you off, and gloat about you to a few of them."** He smiled again, as he watched Will's cheeks start to turn reddish in colour. **"I don't trust Daniel or Chris. They could still be up to something. They are both players. But I also don't want to cause a scene. So we'll stay."** Sonny leapt to his feet, bringing along Will in the process. **"Let's mingle."**

Sonny led them to a group of students who had just arrived. Most of them were graduate students, some were honours students. "**Hey guys. This is Will. Will these are a few of the elites…"** and Sonny through his fingers in the air in an air-quotes gesture, **"…of the programme." **And so Will met quite a few new people that day. And they met him. Jacqueline Frost summed up what most of them were thinking: **"Dear God. Why is it that the two most handsome young men on campus end up finding in other?" **

She turned towards Will: "I'm going to offer you the same thing I offered to Sonny when I first met him. She put a hand on his chest and sighed and said in an extremely sexy voice: **"Have you ever thought about taking a little dip in the other pond, preferably my pond?" **Will, only slightly taken aback by the directness of the question, shook his head and said: **"I had to drive along a long and painful road to discover who I am Jacqueline. Thanks for the offer, but, no. " **To his astonishment, Sonny's group of friends laughed and Will heard someone say:** "That's almost exactly what Sonny said to you Jacqueline."** Jacqueline turned to Will and said: **"But more polite. Are you sure you aren't Canadian?"** And they all laughed. Will laughed as well, especially since he was accused of just the opposite only a few hours before:

After a ten minute cool down, where Sonny basically held Will while Will drank some water, they walked back into the interrogation room where a smug looking, eye-glassed nerd of a Thomas Belford still sat handcuffed to a table. Detective Whitman, sitting comfortably in his chair, had photos sprawled across the table. When Thomas saw Will walk in he almost snarled as he said directly to Will: **"That was rather impolite. Not that I expect anything more from someone like you."**

Detective Whitman cleared his throat, very quickly looked at Will, gave him a reassuring look to keep him calm and turned his attention back to Thomas: **"Thomas. I want you to take a look at these photos." **As Thomas looked at the photos his expression became dark. Will glanced at them. There were pictures of Neil, just before he was taken in the ambulance. There were some of Will; very intimate photos of bruises and tears. He suppressed an urge to scream; instead he simply gasped. He looked at the detective, wide-eyed, who was fixating on Thomas. He felt Sonny's arms wrap around him. His outrage abated. He felt comforted.

Thomas looked up at the detective and briefly glimpsed at Will: **"Why are you showing me these. I had nothing to do with what happened to the two perverts." **The detective shot a look towards Will to see how he was doing. Will looked calm because Sonny had a hold of him. Whitman then turned back to Thomas and said:** "Maybe not Thomas; but Nick Fallon certainly did. He did what is in these photos. He needs to be brought to justice for these crimes. You said to Sonny that you were bringing him to your saviour. He must be close by. Where is he Thomas?" **Thomas looked the detective in the eye and said: **"I did what I did for the glory of God. This Nick Fallon also did what he did for the glory of God."**

Will tried to remain calm, to remain silent, but he could not: **"Nick took what he wanted. He took what he was too afraid to ask for. He's always been a selfish taker. Your saviour is nothing but a closeted homosexual who's too afraid to ask for what he really wants, so he takes it by force. And, Thomas, he didn't have to do what he did to Neil. Thugs surrounded Neil with bats. He was already beaten. But the damage to his face, Nick did that. Nick hit him in the face to shut him up because Neil told Nick he was only doing what he was doing to me because he was jealous. Based on those pictures, I say Neil was right. And you are harboring an evil man." **Thomas looked at Will, fear and doubt growing across his face:** "I want a lawyer"**, he said.

Sonny led Will to one of the hors-d'oeuvres tables. Although earlier it seemed like there was a lot of food, the selection seemed to be somewhat lacking. Will looked towards the kitchen and saw a frantic Chris working away. **"I think someone needs help. I'll be right back."** He turned around, gave Sonny a quick peck, and then headed toward the kitchen. He stopped near the kitchen entrance. Chris was busy taking some finger foods out of the oven. Will made his presence known by coughing a few times. Chris looked up and smiled. **"Need help?"** asked Will. **"Please"** said Chris**: "I started cutting up more celery and carrots. If you don't mind doing that…"**

Will started chopping carrots. He was on a role, and started going pretty fast when one of the carrots slipped. He bent down to pick it up off the kitchen floor and heard an intake of breath from behind. Will's cheeks reddened a little and he decided to ignore the noise. All of a sudden he felt a hand on his shoulder. **"Will, I just wanted to say that I'm glad Sonny found you. I have to admit I had my doubts at first, but if what people say is true, you are remarkably together for someone who went through what you did. And I really loved your funeral speech and Sonny's. He loves you very much and it shows. And regardless what he still thinks, and I don't blame him, I care about him."**

Just then Daniel walked in the kitchen with a glass of red wine in his hand: **"Chris, Can I do anything?" Chris looked at Daniel and smiled: "Sure Hun, those platters need to go out",** and he pointed to some planters on a counter at the other end of the kitchen. Daniel spun a little to catch where Chris was pointing. He apparently forgot he had a drink in his hand. The red wine flew through the air and landed on Will's beautifully blue V-neck jersey.

**"Daniel! What are you doing? God Daniel! Will's jersey might be ruined! Will, take it off quickly! I'll drench it in tonic water and vinegar and put it in the wash! Jesus Daniel I don't need this right now!"**

Will, surprised by the wine flying towards him, recovered quickly. He took off his blazer, followed by his jersey; which he handed to Chris. And, disregarding the gasps and mouthing of **"Oh My God!"** from both Chris and Daniel, put his blazer back on and walked to the counter at the other end of the kitchen. He then grabbed a few platters and handed then to Daniel, and went and grabbed a few more.

Will then walked, in what he hoped seemed rather proudly, out towards the guests in the living room, towards the area where the platters should go and deposited them. He tried to ignore the open-mouthed **"Oh My God"**s from around the room.

He marched directly to Sonny, who was smiling at him from ear-to-ear. Will twirled around while grabbing his blazer, exposing his naked torso: **"So Son, how do I look?"** Sonny grinned even more:** "Like a Greek God. What happened to your jersey Will?" **Will shrugged and just said: **"Wine", **he approached Sonny and proceeded to kiss him passionately on the lips, even though all eyes were still on him. He then whispered to Sonny: **" I've worked hard. I think I deserve a beer."** And gave Sonny his deliberate I'm Sexy-and-I-know-It look. And Will got his beer, one beer; which he shared with an incredibly turned-on and proud Sonny.


	26. Chapter 26

Sonny was in a little bit of heaven. He was sitting on a couch, even though the couch was in the house of someone he didn't particularly like. But that wasn't why he was in heaven. Will was sitting on his lap. Sonny had his hand on Will's naked torso. And Sonny was exploring every muscle and every rib. People might think that was his heaven; and boy was it. But even more than that, Will, it turns out, was a very light drinker. Half of one beer and Will's inhibitions were lessened to a point that Will was mumbling sweet nothings into the nape of Sonny's neck. **"You smell so good Sonny…Can't I nibble on your neck just a little? It won't hurt I promise…I love you so much Sonny. If you hadn't come into my life I would be so empty inside right now…I mean emotionally, because we can't be bunnies right now… "**And to top this all off, Will had tuckedhis hands underneath Sonny's jersey and was inching very slowly downwards; and all this in front of some extremely google-eyed individuals. Will was not drunk per say. Not yet, and Sonny wasn't going to let him get that far. Will wasn't even buzzed, as they say, not really; just able to unwind a bit. Sonny smiled. He was very happy that Will was comfortable enough with him to unwind like this, in front of a lot of interested people. But it was getting much too hot in here. Sonny was beginning to sweat a little. He leaned forward and whispered in Will's ear: **"Lover, we need to slow down a little. We'll be arrested for indecent acts if we keep this up."**

Will looked at Sonny and then around the room. **"But that might be fun…"** He eventually relented and shifted himself off of Sonny's lap; but kept his gaze on him.** "I'm sorry Sonny. I'm just feeling very comfortable right now." **Sonny looked at Will and smiled:** "You never have to be sorry about wanting to cuddle with me Will. But we do need to show some propriety." **He stiffened and made an old-lady-polite-manners face, which, as it was meant to do, made Will laugh.

Chris walked up to the both of them and sat on the edge of the couch. He handed Will his jersey and said: **"Will, sorry this took so long. But we got to the stain in time. It looks good as new." **He leaned forward and spoke more softly: "**As much as I'm sure everyone here would love to see more of that hot bod of yours Will, if you wanted to put the jersey back on, in private, we'll be disappointed; but we won't hold it against you." **And he looked at Will with a look that expressed that he wished Will would refuse the jersey; but the look was unsuccessful. Will took the jersey and expressed a **"Thank You"** to Chris.

Will then stood up and held his hand out to Sonny, who smirked a little. Usually the roles were reversed, as had become tradition. It usually was Sonny that stood up and presented his hand to Will. Sonny's smile went broader when he saw Will do his come-hither eyebrow push-up wink. He stood up to let Will lead him wherever Will wanted to go. Will asked Chris where the bathroom was. Chris smiled and said: **"Take the second bedroom, first door on your right."** He pointed to the corridor. **"It has a bed in it; in case you need it." **He winked at both of them and left the couch to begin mingling again.

Will headed to the second bedroom with Sonny. They entered the room and Sonny closed the door as Will took off his blazer. Will then pounced on Sonny, his hands going directly to Sonny hair. Will's smooth chest rubbed against Sonny's jersey. Will's hands went from Sonny's hair down his entire upper body and slid underneath Sonny's jersey, in what seemed like an attempt to rip the jersey apart. Will's head jolted forward towards Sonny. Their lips met and their tongues did a little dance. A familiar tango, that neither Sonny nor Will seemed to ever really tire of. The exchange of breath was like sharing each other's souls.

Will became more and more intense in the kiss. His hands roamed Sonny's body underneath his jersey, from his torso, to some very serious attempts to reach Sonny's lower regions. But, after a few minutes, and several attempts by Sonny to stop him, Will broke off the kiss. He separated from Sonny and looked at him with yearning and want. His body was aching to feel Sonny against it.

His eyes then roamed towards the bed. Will shook his head, as if in answer to an internal question. He then put his jersey on, and then his blazer. A little bewildered, Sonny smiled and said: **"For a second there I thought you were going to suggest we use the bed." **Will smiled back: **"I may be a little horny, but I'm not crazy." **Will pressed forward towards Sonny and kissed him again, then separated once more, and headed towards the door; which he opened, and motioned for Sonny to step through the threshold; which Sonny did, and Will followed, all the while looking longingly at Sonny, still. As they headed back to the party the boys went by a door and heard a whispered conversation:

**"…Delete that now… Do you want a quick buck, or a real chance with them…"**

**"…maybe I want both…Look…We'll talk about this later…."**

Sonny and Will looked at one another. They couldn't tell who had been talking but they both figured it was Chris and Daniel, since this was their apartment, although neither Sonny nor Will could distinguish between the voices. It was rather strange. It reminded Sonny of a situation that happened earlier that day:

Detective Whitman had asked Sonny and Will to attend quite a few interviews that morning. It seemed to Detective Whitman that Will's presence, and even Sonny's, was the distraction that was needed to get some of the accused kidnappers to talk more than they would have otherwise.

Sonny noticed that Will was in better spirits after four or five interviews. He was rather down after Thomas Belford asked for a lawyer. Detective Whitman had told Will that Thomas had done exactly what the detective had been hoping. Perhaps they could cut a deal. The important thing was to get Nick Fallon; everyone else was small-fry; especially considering Sonny had not been in any real danger. Sonny was a little annoyed at that. But after internally comparing what Will went through versus what he did, he had to agree. After all, Sonny had a rather substantial security team looking after him. Will and Neil hadn't had anyone.

Sonny had left Will and the detective to discuss their strategy for the next interview; he headed towards a water dispenser. Sonny had realized that Will enjoyed time in between interviews with Sonny and that Sonny giving him water was a good excuse for them to spend some time together; Time to cuddle; Time to breathe each other in.

He rounded a corner and overheard someone talking: **"…that wasn't part of the deal…No…I was to deliver him to you so you could…Wait I think I hear somebody…"**

Sonny stopped and waited then proceeded forward. He was face to face with Max, who did not seem pleased to see him. **"You…what do you want?"** Sonny ignored the vehemence and simply said: "**I'm getting some water for Will. Any luck getting him arrested for his accidental knee-slip?"** Max just glared at him and said: **"My dad seems to think I need some time to think about my priorities. When I get out of here I'll make sure you…"** Sonny interrupted him: **"When you get out of here, Max, you will stay far away from me and from Will. You could help yourself a lot by telling the police anything you know about this 'Saviour's' whereabouts. I would have thought your father's lawyers would have told you that by now."** In response Max simply stared at Sonny. Sonny thought:"**_This is the best conversation the two of us have had in a long while_****" **He simply shook his head and then he walked towards the vending machines.

Will and Sonny walked back to where the majority of the party guests were congregating. Jacqueline Frost went up to Will and pretend-pouted: **"Will, you put your jersey back on. That is so disappointing".** She then started to pretend-claw at him with her fingernails. Will gave her a prolonged peck on the cheek: **"If I weren't so in love with Sonny, I might consider experimenting with you."** Jacqueline smiled: **"Young love. Is it me or are they being really annoying?" **She pretend-frowned then gave a pretend-slap on Will's cheeks. **"You two deserve each other." **


	27. Chapter 27

The air was damp, after a light rain that had just finished falling. It was dark; a darkness that was caused more by the fact that there was very little light in a rather dank alley, than by the fact it was now rather late on a Saturday night.

Sonny Kiriakis was sitting on the damp pavement that covered the length of that alley. His face was damp; a dampness that was caused less by the fact that he had been out in the rain for quite some time, and more by the fact he had been crying. Tears were flowing down his face. They were not tears of joy. Through his tears Sonny could not help but think back to earlier that evening. If only Sonny and Will had made a different decision, things might have turned out better; although things had started out amazingly:

The guests were thinning. Quite a few of them had left to prepare for the Department dinner. Sonny and Will were debating whether they would go out somewhere, like dinner then a dance-club, or go home and explore each other. They decided to go home. They both weren't very hungry and they both felt they needed to explore each other.

Their escort, the three suites, brought them back to the dorm. As they got off the elevator Will bumped into Marc, who wasn't paying very close attention to where he was going. **" Hey Marc! Ca va? T'es dans la lune" **said Will. Marc looked at Will and smiled: **"I'm going to see that girl I met the other day; going on a date. She wants to go to that new club that opened down in the Market; the one that is plastering flyers all over campus. Do you guys want to come with us later?" **Will looked at Sonny who simply smiled then turned back to Marc and said:** "We'll see how we feel. I'll text you in a couple of hours. Okay?" **With that decided, Marc took the elevator down, and Will and Sonny headed to Sonny's private space.

Sonny, still sitting on the cold pavement, looked down and beside him. He saw Will lying there. Will hadn't moved in many minutes. Sonny was unsure exactly how long it had been. Will looked so pale, frail and weak; lying on the cold pavement. Sonny remembered that just a few hours ago, Will was so vibrant and alive:

As the door to Sonny's private area closed behind them, Will flew into Sonny's arms , his hands going from Sonny's hair to his arms, back to his hair and down his torso; a sequence that repeated several times over; a sequence that Sonny also duplicated. Their lips, burned for each other's touch and were satiated. Their tongues tangoed and waltzed to various beats as their bodies intertwined and their energies meshed together.

They disengaged and Sonny almost tore Will's blazer from his body, and did the same to his own. And then off came the jerseys and the jeans, and the underpants, and last came the socks. They stood looking at one another, each admiring the view; each one thought that he was the lucky one; to be able to view the vision of beauty in front of him.

Will spoke first: **"Sonny, you look so beautiful. I have wanted to see you like this all day."** And he practically jumped on Sonny causing them both to fly towards the bed. They explored one another for hours; licking and kissing and touching every part of the other.

Eventually they were both spent. Their energies both exhausted and rejuvenated. They recreated the dance they did before, but this time it was to put each other's clothes back on; starting with the socks, the underwear, and the jeans, the jersey, and lastly the blazer.

They were so energized by their love-making they decided to call Marc and made arrangements to meet him at the new dance-bar.

Sonny then looked across the alley and saw Marc, who was also sitting on the pavement. Marc did not look good. Blood was trickling down from his forehead; but more than that, Marc had the look of the betrayed. It was not long ago that Marc had seemed so happy:

The bar entrance was in the basement floor of a building on Daly Street. Sonny and Will arrived there and joined the line-up of students and other young people waiting to get in. Their escorts had dropped them of at the corner and decided it was safe for Will and Sonny to walk the rest of the way. They would keep their distance, but would arrange to have someone in the club to keep an eye out.

About five minutes later, Marc and a rather good-looking blonde woman appeared. The young woman's name was Cindy. Marc had met her the night before while he was bar-hopping in Gatineau with some of his floor-mates. They had exchanged numbers and she had called him earlier on Saturday. They had talked for quite some time. Marc just blurted out **"Would you go out with me… like on a date?" **And, she had simply said: **"It's about time you asked me. I was beginning to think you were, like, gay or something." **Marc assured her he wasn't "** … not that I have anything against being gay; since my older brother and now my roommate are both gay and they are two of the coolest people out there. "**Cindy seemed very intrigued by Will. She suggested they ask Will and Sonny if they wanted to go to the new dance club. The club was strict when it came to under-age drinking, in Ontario it's nineteen and over, but they did allow eighteen year olds to come in, buy juices or water and enjoy the music.

**"So Cindy, this is Will, my roommate and this is his boyfriend Sonny" Marc said, after they tucked themselves in line. **Cindy looked at Will:** "Well hello Will, and Sonny. Marc has told me a lot about the two of you; Nice to meet you." **Will replied:** "Well thanks, Marc hasn't said a lick about you." **

For the next twenty minutes Will, Sonny, Marc and Cindy talked about their lives, getting to know each other. Cindy seemed very relaxed and open. She was a student at St Paul's University, studying theology. She seemed very opened-minded; although Sonny did pick up on a few strained emotions when she briefly touched on her church's view of homosexuality. Sonny just put it down to her trying to distinguish between her church's beliefs and what she personally believed in. He was about to explore this more, but the line finally moved and they entered the bar. It became much too loud to continue talking about theology.

Sonny is interrupted in his reverie by an emergency service worker coming towards him. He waved her off and gestured to Will. She immediately concentrated her attention on him; looking him over. She checked for vital signs. She seemed worried.

Sonny felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up. He saw Chris looking down at him, his face worried and sad. Chris looked towards the EMS worker and towards Will. **"How is he, Sonny?"** Sonny just shook his head. He just didn't know. He was confused. He was worried. He was bewildered. Who would have thought Chris would be so worried about Will? Not Sonny; not after what Chris did, not even a half-hour ago:

They made it to the bar, each one sporting a coloured wrist band. Florescent yellow was for those old enough to drink and florescent green for those who weren't They headed towards the dance floor first. Music was blaring and the beat was contagious. Sonny and Will danced together, beside Marc and Cindy. Cindy had looked wide-eyed at Sonny and Will at first, but her expression changed. Will assumed that she was surprised that Will and Sonny were comfortable enough dancing together in public. But since this was Canada and 2013, it wasn't a problem. Everyone relaxed.

After several quite energetic songs, Sonny was beginning to get thirsty. He asked Cindy, Marc and Will if they wanted anything to drink and walked off to the nearest bar; leaving Marc, Cindy and Will to dance together.. As he neared the bar he saw, of all people, Chris, talking to a rather good looking blond. Chris saw Sonny and stepped up towards the bar, leaving his friend to head towards the dance floor. **"Hey there Sonny, fancy meeting you here. I would have thought you two would be cuddling together by now."** Sonny simply looked at Chris with a 'What-makes-you think-we-haven't-already' look: **"We got energized and decided to blow off some steam. Will also wanted to meet his roommate's new girl."**

After a few more minutes of forced chit-chat, Sonny procured a beer for himdelf, and various juice concoctions for the others. He headed for the dance floor with Chris not too far behind. When he got there he noticed Chris' blond friend whirl Will around and plant a gigantic kiss on Will's lips. Sonny could see that Will had been taken off-guard. The kiss did not last very long. Will turned back around and saw Sonny staring at him. Sonny could see Will's expression change from anger to mortal terror and embarrassment. Will ran off. Sonny ran towards the blond, not really sure what his intentions were going to be when he reached him. Chris had passed Sonny on the way there. It was hard for Sonny to run with so many drinks in his hands. When he got to the blond he heard Chris say: **"Andrew, what were you doing! I said it would be funny to flirt with Will, not molest him!" **

Sonny went to Marc and said**: "Did you see where Will went? I don't want him to think I'm angry with him. I know what happened." ** Marc pointed to the dark corner and said: **"Cindy went with him. He said something about needing to wash his mouth out."** Marc looked towards the blond and scowled. **"The guy seems wasted." **Sonny looked at the corridor and back to Marc**: "I'm going after him!" **Marc replied:** "So am I!" **and they both heard Chris say:** "I'm going to apologize to Will on behalf of this jerk."**

Chris, still with his hand on Sonny's shoulder, crouched down beside him. He looked at Will who was still being worked on by the EMS worker. His face was now drenched, and not because of the rain. Tears were streaming down his face. This did not happen very often: **"Sonny, I know that later you are going to blame me for this. If I hadn't planned that stupid joke, we might not have been in this situation. I'm so sorry."** Sonny looked at Chris. He wished who could dislike him, and lash out, but he didn't have the energy. Besides, what use would it do? He found the energy to reply: **"Chris, they would have found a way to get Will outside. It isn't your fault." **Chris was still tearful as he remembered:

Chris was behind Marc and Sonny as all three of them ran towards the dark corridor. He heard Marc say: **"This isn't the way towards the bathroom. What the hell is going on?"** Then, as they rounded a corner, Chris could see Will and a young woman open a door. Light shone through. And then Chris saw Will being pulled forcibly through the doorway. The young lady looked back towards Chris and shouted to whoever was on the other side of the door. **"We need to block the door! Now!"** And she went through the doorway. Sonny, Marc and Chris arrived at the door seconds later. It was now closed. Sonny yelled: **"We need to get through this door! "** All three continued to run and rammed the door together.

All three, Marc, Sonny and Chris, fell out the door and landed on a few people who had been trying to block it. As Chris tried to get to his feet, he was hit by a bat and fell to the ground. He saw, as he fell, that Marc and Sonny suffered the same fate.

Sonny looked past Will and saw Cindy being questioned by the police. He wished he had the strength to get up. He wanted to go to her and bitch-slap her…hard. He couldn't help remembering what she said to Will and what he said to her in response:

Sonny felt the bat hit the back of his knees and felt himself go down. He was astonished that it didn't hurt that much. He looked up and he saw Will standing face to face with Cindy. He heard her say: **"Will you need to fall on your knees, as the rest of your band has. We have promised not to hurt you. But we will only take this insult for so long**." Will's response would have made him laugh under less stressful circumstances: **"I'll fall on my knees in front of you, Cindy, when you grow a penis! Now tell me what the hell you want!" All Cindy did was point.**

Sonny looked past Cindy to where she now pointed. He saw a hooded figure in the shadows. This hooded figure stepped forward into what light there was in this dark alleyway. The hooded figure brought his hands up and brought his hood down. It was Nick Fallon.

Sonny, was just about over the blow to his knees. He was about to try to get back on his feet when he felt a boot on his back. He looked to his right and then his left; he saw that both Marc and Chris both had a figure looming above then with a boot on their respective backs.

Nick stepped toward Will. **"We finally meet again Will. It has been a long time. You have caused me a lot of grief. Have you thought at all about my messages? Will you repent? Will you turn back towards goodness and decency?"**

Will laughed in Nick face: **"You are one to talk about goodness and decency! You raped me… you asshole!" **A few of those people who surrounded Will came forward with bats raised; with the obvious intent to shut him up. But Nick Fallon simply raised his hand and waved them back; and they did.

**"Will, I don't want to hurt you. I simply want you to see my point of view; the point of view of the righteous."** Will scoffed at Nick once more: "**You mean the point of view of the delusional! "**

Sonny, Marc and Chris, all three simultaneously yelled: **"Will! What are you doing?" **Will spun his head around and simply looked at them with his fiery blue eyes; and all three realized exactly what he was doing. He was stalling. He was keeping everyone's attention on him and away from the three of them. Will was being extremely brave. A bravery that, at least Sonny knew, Will thought he should have exercised the last time he had to face Nick Fallon.

And so Will continued:** "You and your followers…if I'm getting what I've been told over the last few weeks right… you all think that men can't rape other men… And that if it's assault… when it was all for the good… because people like me deserve it! Am I getting that right?"** Will glared daggers at Nick and his stare followed him as he stared at everyone standing around him. **"I don't know what Nick has told you all… but I can tell you, that man has been after my body since he was twelve years old!"**

Sonny looked past Cindy. He saw Nick Fallon still on the ground, surrounded by police. He was handcuffed and bleeding. Sonny could not help but be proud of Will as he remembered:

Will moved fast; faster than Sonny had ever seen anyone move. Nick also moved fast, but not fast enough. Nick had moved towards Will, a bat in hand, intent on hitting Will as hard as he could. Will sidestepped Nick, crouched and punched Nick right in the testicles; grabbed the bat and yanked it out of Nick's hand. He then swung as hard as he could and hit Nick in the shoulders. Nick went down.

All of a sudden everyone was surrounded by police. There were shouts of **"lower your weapons"**. Will lowered his weapon and that is when Cindy took the opportunity to raise a bat of her own and hit Will in the back. He went down.

Sonny looked again towards Will and the EMS worker: **"Will he be okay? Please tell me he's going to be okay!"** The EMS worked looked sadly towards Sonny. He then felt a hand drop on his knee. **"Who the hell hit me?"** He heard Will say.

Sonny bent down and kissed Will as passionately as he dared. More tears began to flow from Sonny's eyes. These were tears of joy. He released Will's lips and whispered in his ear: **"I love you so much.. I'm really proud of you Will... but if you ever put yourself in danger like that again… I'll kill you myself…"** He then proceeded to kiss Will with even more passion.


	28. Chapter 28

Sonny looked outside of the hospital window. It was Sunday afternoon. Clouds were rolling by; streaming along the September sky, ever-changing. The clouds and the weather seemed ominous one moment and a sweet pleasure to behold the next; and then back to ominous. **_"Like Life"_**thought Sonny.

Sonny looked around the room there were four beds. Two of them were occupied at the moment. The two unoccupied beds were meant for Sonny and Chris. Sonny was standing near the window and Chris had decided to take a walk, with Daniel. The other two beds were for Marc and Will. Marc was sitting upright in bed, laptop on his knees skyping with his older brother. He was fully clothed and ready to be discharged. They were waiting for the doctors to sign off on them, after being admitted for observation late last night. Sonny looked towards Will, whose head was bandaged and who was sleeping at the moment. Will was still in his hospital gown. There was a good chance that he alone of the four of them would not be going home today.

They had all been assigned to one room; a police officer posted outside, as a precaution. There had been several surreal moments at the hospital and the Ottawa police were not taking any chances:

The EMS worker and her partner had finished strapping Will onto the stretcher. They had strapped him in and put a collar around his neck, just as a precaution. Will was conscious at the moment. They were about ready to put him in the ambulance when Sonny stopped them. He looked at them expectantly: **"Can I say goodbye first?" **he asked. The EMS workers both smiled**: "Actually, you need to be seen by a doctor, as well. Hop in; your other two friends will be taken by police car. "**

On the way to the hospital, even though it was at night, Sonny could see that they were taken the reverse route of the very first drive that Sonny and Will took together. Sonny could see the EMS worker hovering over Will. She was frowning. Sonny was allowed to hold Will's hand. **"It's going to be okay Will. It's going to be okay"**, Sonny heard himself say over and over again. When they got to near the park, it was as if Will could sense it. Will began to shake uncontrollably. Sonny could see Will's eyes roll into the back of his head.

**"Patient is exhibiting signs of PTS!"** she called to the front of the ambulance. **"Admistering meds!"** The driver called out:**" ETA two minutes! I'm calling it in to the General!" **All Sonny wanted to do was help, but he didn't know how. He knew enough not to panic. He wanted to shout out and he wanted to know everything that was going on; but he knew enough not to. Panicking would not help Will. It would just distract the EMS worker.

The next two minutes were both the longest and shortest two minutes of Sonny's life. They arrived at the General and the EMS workers had Will down and out of the ambulance in seconds. Seconds later Will was being worked on by several Emergency Room doctors. And a few minutes later. Will was in stable condition, for the moment and Sonny's was brought to another part of the emergency room in order to be looked at by a doctor.

Marc finished talking to his brother, then set his laptop on the bed and walked towards the window where Sonny was still standing. **"How are you doing Sonny?"** he asked. Sonny just stared at Marc. Marc knew that Sonny did not blame him for what happened at the bar; but Marc did. He blamed himself for not seeing through Cindy. He hadn't been able to talk to Will about her yet; seems that whenever Will was awake, Marc had been in tests or asleep. He hoped Will wasn't avoiding him. Although Marc couldn't really blame Will if he did; seeing as Cindy was the cause of Will's current medical troubles; and Marc was the reason Cindy was in their lives to begin with. Although Cindy had been very cunning; look what she did to Will in the hospital:

Will was still in Intensive Care but he was in stable condition. That was the message that Sonny, Chris and Marc received from the doctors. Sonny wanted to see him but of course was told that only family was allowed to see him at this time. Nothing that Marc or Sonny could say would change their minds until the police informed them that Sonny and Marc were the closest thing Will had to family in the country. They relented and both Marc and Sonny were escorted to where Will was now resting.

They entered a large room and walked a series of corridors that were created by rows of beds. The nurse stopped and one of the beds and was about to open the curtain when a voice could be heard from inside: **"Please wait a moment. I'm administering meds." **The nurse hesitated. Marc could see she was confused about something. Then the voice sank in. Marc knew that voice. It was Cindy's voice:** "Open the curtain! That's not a nurse!" **The curtain flew open and Marc could see Cindy, in a nurse's uniform, a needle in her hand, just about to pump Will's intravenous tube with something. Sonny shot past Marc and the nurse and grabbed Cindy's arm.

There was a bit of wresting. Finally Cindy was pinned by Sonny and two orderlies that were nearby. Marc was astounded by Cindy's ferocious determination. Just before she was dragged away by the orderlies towards the police who were supposed to have her in custody already he asked simply: **"Why?"** He answer was almost as simply: **"Will needs to return to Satan so that our Saviour could be free."**

Chris and Daniel walked back into the hospital room. Chris instinctively scanned it; for what he wasn't sure. He learned early on in his life to always scan a room before entering… Marc and Sonny were by the window. Sonny looked pensive. Marc was looking guilty. Chris could understand both those looks. He'd noticed them both looking at himself through Daniel's eyes. He looked towards Will, who looked like he was sleeping, again. Chris knew that Will needed his rest. He really hadn't been able to sleep for very long. At first, they were all placed in different areas of the hospital. Will, the most seriously hurt of the three, was in ICU, surrounded by officers and guards, after what Cindy tried to do. Marc had a cut on his head, so he was people monitored in Emergency. Sonny and Chris had only bruises.

Cindy's attack had been a surprise, because it was rather brazen. But it wasn't as brazen as the second attack on Will, or the simultaneous attacks on Marc, Sonny and Chris. Or the even more brazen attempt to free Nick, who was in guarded custody in the hospital. It seems that Will had done a little damage of his own. After the attacks, that were rather spectacularly unsuccessful, yet still worrisome, arrangements had been made to place all four victims of that night's assault in one room, with protection.

Chris winced slightly as he remembered the looks in those young people's eyes when they stormed the hospital, but what Chris remembered most about this night was his conversation with Sonny while waiting to hear about Will. He thought it went rather well considering; at least it was a good start:

Chris and Sonny were sitting together in the waiting room, both waiting on word of Will's condition. Sonny also wanted to know if Marc was okay. Sonny had told Chris that it was alright that he leave. He really didn't know Marc and Will was Sonny's to worry about. Chris had simply looked at Sonny and said: **"Sonny, I haven't known Will long, and yes, what I did tonight was a little juvenile. I wasn't trying to break the two of you apart. I was just a little jealous. I also wanted the two of you to feel what it was like to have someone come on to both of you as a couple. That was the real plan. I wanted you especially to know what it felt like; it could be rather fun. And I can't promise you that I won't try that again. You need to know what a turn on it could be to have someone be attracted to both you and your partner."**

Sonny looked at Chris with amazement written blazingly across his face: **"Chris, I am with Will. All I need is Will. I don't need anyone else. There was a time a while ago that I thought I wanted Daniel, and then you. But I have Will now. Will is enough."**

Chris looked at Sonny, and said rather uncommonly sincerely**: "It shows Sonny. And Will is enough for you. Daniel and I are enough for each other as well. It's not as if we need anyone else. It's just fun sometimes to just spice things up." **It had not occurred to Chris that he might have said something wrong just then, until he saw Sonny's eyes narrow, and his voice went a little too loud and a little too harsh: **" So that was all that I was to you and to Daniel; just someone to spice things up a little!"** Chris sighed and looked at Sonny , again with a look that demonstrated his sincerity: **"No Sonny. You were much more than that. You still are, to Daniel and to me. And I have to tell you that now, so is Will."**

Chris was not able to go any further than that with Sonny, although it was a good start. All hell broke loose after that. Chris looked towards Will, who he now saw was stirring himself awake. He held Daniel's hand and walked into the room.

Marc continued to stare at Sonny who had turned to look out the window again. The clouds had dissipated again. It looked sunny and warm out, again. Marc had expected Sonny to answer his silently asked question, the one his eyes kept saying: **_"Do you blame me?" _**_Instead, he heard a voice from behind him saying: __**"Marc stop beating yourself up about all this. If anyone is to blame it's me. If I'd stood up for myself in the beginning, or died in the attempt, none of this would have happened. Everyone is hurt because of me."**_

Sonny and Marc turned towards the voice, to see Will sitting up in bed. Sonny rushed towards him, grabbed him lightly by the shoulders and gave him a peck on the cheek: **"You both should stop blaming yourselves. This is Nick's fault, and his gang of cultists freak-heads. "**Sonny looked towards Chris, who he noticed, had walked in the room:** "You too Chris… you weren't at fault either. No one here was. I just hope we can get out of here soon."**

Right after Sonny let loose that sentiment an army of doctors arrived. Sonny and Chris and Marc went to one side of the room, since they all knew the doctors had already seen them and basically signed off on their good health.

The lead doctor went up to Will and examined his bandages and looked over his chart. He then nodded and left the room. A group of residents were left to explain to Will that everything seemed fine. He might have a concussion, but if they could be assured that he could be monitored at home. That he would be awakened every four hours for the next twenty-four hours and that he would not try and attend school the next day, but wait till the following day, they would release him.

Will looked bewildered. He frowned and said: **"I live in a dorm. I don't have anyone that could do that for me." **Both Sonny and Marc said simultaneously:"** The hell you don't" **Sonny looked at Marc, with a look that said: **_"I'll take care of this"_**But his looked softened:** "Marc and I will set up a schedule on our floor . But let me just say to everyone here, and that includes you Marc, the first four hours are mine. By the way, docs… how intimate will Will be allowed to be in the next say… four to twenty-four hours?"**

Will perked up at that and asked**: "Bunnies?' **


	29. Chapter 29

Will was annoyed…seriously annoyed. When he heard Sonny and Marc suggest that they would make a schedule to wake him up every four hours for the next twenty four…he thought they were kidding. No. They were very serious. It was annoying.

The really good part of the whole thing was the first four hours. Actually it was more like six. Marc, Sonny and Will got back to the dorm at around four in the afternoon. Sonny had monopolized Will's time till about 22:00 that night. It was heaven. Although, the doctors had said that Will and Sonny shouldn't act like bunnies, but serious cuddling was A. O. friggin. K. So that is what they A. O. friggin did. Naked serious cuddling:

When Sonny, Marc and Will arrived back to Stanton, Marc and Sonny started to organize things so that Will could be monitored for 24 hours. He would not be allowed more than four hours sleep before being woken up. They asked Will's floor mates if anyone would be willing to help; they got a unanimous response. Marc had said that he would be okay if they simply left the door open to the room, but Will didn't want Marc's rest to be disturbed any more than was needed; so, they settled on pulling the bed part of the couch in Sonny's Floor Leader's lounge out and Will could sleep there. That way people, who signed up to wake him, would have access. The doctor's explained that Will what Will mostly needed was rest; so he would be spending a good part of the next twenty-four hours in the lounge resting.

The first hours however were with Sonny, in Sonny's private space. Will was tired by the time everything was arranged but he tried not to show it. If he couldn't have bunnies then he wanted something damn close to it.

Sonny undressed Will very slowly, and very gently, nipping and kissing at every opportunity; whenever and wherever there was exposed skin. Will reciprocated, if a bit more energetically than he should, which elicited a look of concern, followed by a frown and a rolling of the eyes from Sonny. As they explored each other, they began to talk. Sonny asked Will: **"Are you okay?**' and Will replied: **"Right Now, I'm perfect."** Sonny smiled and then frowned a little**: "I meant about what happened last night."**

Will frowned: **"Do we have to talk about that? Please let's forget about that."** Sonny looked into Will's slightly frightened eyes. He smiled a reassuring smile and continued**: "Will, I saw you last night. I saw your eyes. You deliberately provoked Nick into attacking you. Why?"** And Will tried to explain to Sonny that it was a delaying tactic. He knew that help would be on the way shortly. He didn't want anything to happen to Sonny or Marc or even Chris.

But Sonny saw through that: **"Will, lover, it was much more than that. You know I know it was. Just tell me. Talk to me, please."** Sonny, realizing that Will was becoming slightly agitated, started to caress Will's torso, he put a light finger to Will's temple and traced his features to his chin, stopping briefly at Will's lips. Will instinctively grabbed the tip of Sonny's finger and gently and lovingly nipped it with his teeth. Will sighed: **"Oh all right Son, I'll talk."**

Will shifted his position, turning his head to avoid eye contact with Sonny. Sonny gently stopped Will's body from turning, guiding Will's gaze back towards him. He looked into Will's beautiful blue eyes and said: **"No Will. Look at me. I won't let you be ashamed about your feelings, whatever they are. If you become ashamed of them then Nick wins. I won't let YOU let that happen."**

Will smiled at gazed into Sonny's chocolate brown eyes:** "Alright Sonny. You win. You're right. I shouldn't be ashamed. But you might not like what I tell you." **Will leaned forward and kissed Sonny very sweetly and gently and then he began to explain.

Will explained that Sonny had been right. Will had provoked Nick on purpose. He wanted an excuse…an excuse to hit him; and he got it: **"I punched him in the nuts, Sonny. If I could have ripped them out I would have." **Will's eyes began to mist. His body began to shake. Sonny hugged him close and brought Will's head to his shoulder. Will began to cry, and sob and convulse; his emotions flowing freely. After he was done he looked into Sonny's eyes again: **"You're much better to talk to then Dr. Pinot is. I like this naked therapy."**

Sonny smiled:** "You need to talk, Will. I love you. I want you to be able to tell me anything." **Will smiled in his turn. He then began to describe how he felt when he had the bat in his hand; how he felt powerful, yet in some way, just before he swung, he had looked at Nick and he had held back. That was why Nick had not been as hurt as Will was. Nick did have to go to the hospital. He did have a concussion and a much bruised spinal cord. But Will had been hit much harder. Cindy had not held back.

**"At first I wanted to hurt him, but when I had the chance; I mean the chance I could end it all, for good, with one swing. I couldn't I…I am a coward Sonny; a damn coward."** Will tied to pull away again, this time more forcefully. But Sonny still hung on. He again gently guided Will's gaze to his own: **"Will…The fact that you couldn't hurt Nick… Bash his head in…." **He stopped and waited for Will to confirm that statement with a nod**. "The fact that you couldn't kill Nick last night… That doesn't make you a coward…My lover… That just tells me what an amazingly good person you are."**

And with that said Sonny grabbed Will's head a little too roughly; and began to kiss him wildly, and passionately. Will returned the passion. Will's mouth opened and Sonny's tongue invaded. Their tongues danced their little dance until Sonny heard Will's moans of contentment and realized that he might be pushing Will's body further than it should go right now. Sonny pushed Will gently away, releasing the kiss. **"Okay… Will…we both need to calm down"** Will's eyebrows shot up. His I-don't-even-know-I'm-doing-it- sexy smirk racing across his features: **"I don't want to calm down"**, he said. Sonny replied: "**I know Will. But your body needs rest. You need for us to calm down. Okay?"** Sonny tilted his head and Will saw love and concern, passion, want and more concern, fighting for control in Sonny's eyes and features.

Will sighed and relented. **"Please just hold me Sonny, while I fall asleep."** And Will moved so he was on his side. Sonny curled himself around Will, spooning him. Will sighed again. He was content. Sonny heard Will say: "I** love you Sonny, so much…"** and then the sounds of Will's contented sleep.

At 22:00 Sonny woke Will up. They got dressed into their night-clothes, Will took some medication, and they both prepared for bed again; this time however Sonny directed Will to the made-up bed in his lounge. They both curled up, and fell asleep.

At 02:00 Marc came into the room and woke Will up. Sonny rose to get up with him but Will simply kissed Sonny and said: "Please sleep Sonny. I'll be back soon." And he was, fifteen minutes later, after enough time to take his medication, and briefly talk to Marc.

At 06:00 someone else came into the room to wake Will up and Will rose, repeating the ritual with Sonny. Then at 9:00 o'clock Sonny rose to begin his day of classes. Will wanted to get up but Sonny simply laid his fingers over Will's eyelids, shutting them and whispered: **"Sleep my lover."** Will was instantly asleep until he was woken up at 10:00.

At 10:05 Will wasn't very happy. After a floor mate woke him up, he realized that he was late for class. His floor mate reminded him that he wasn't going to class today. **"Oh yeah, sorry Andrew, I forgot. Marc was going to get notes for me, right? And arrange for others to get notes from my other classes? Has Sonny gone yet?" **

His floor mates had been warned that Will might be a little confused when he woke up. They all had a list of answerable questions, questions Will should know the answer to. If Will exhibited confusion, they were to ask these questions. If Will couldn't answer them, they were to call 911 and get Will to the hospital ASAP.

**"When and where were you born?" **

**"Salem November 16, 1995"**

**"How many dads have you had?" **

**"Depends how many times you count Lucas"**

**"Okay good answer. Have you ever lived abroad? **

** "I'm abroad now." "Okay that one's good too. Who do you love?"**

Will smirked at that**." That wasn't one of the questions. Did Sonny add that one in? Sonny. I love Sonny. But you can tell him I said Leonardo DiCaprio when you see him."** Andrew smirked at that: **"That's actually a good answer too. Okay you're fine."**

After he took his medication, Will wasn't sleepy so he went to his own room and got his Ipad. He returned to the lounge so that people knew where he was. He checked his e-mail and Facebook and Skype. There was a Skype IM from Justin Kiriakis. Justin wanted Will to Skype him when he was able. There were e-mails from Dr. Pinot, some detectives and his Grandma Marlena.

He decided to Skype Justin Kiriakis first. He pinged him and Justin immediately appeared. **"Will! I'm glad you Skyped me! I was contacted yesterday, by the police and Sonny to tell me that Nick was apprehended, and that you were hurt. Sonny said you were going to be fine, but I wanted to hear it from you. "**

Will smiled: **"I'm okay Mr. Kiriakis… I mean Justin. Really. I've been ordered to rest for twenty-four hours. Mild concussion. Bruises. There were a few attempts to finish me off apparently, but I'm fine"**

Justin expressed his gratitude that Will was okay, and then went onto more serious business. He explained that Nick would have an extradition hearing on Friday. Justin thought that Will, Marc and Sonny, and even Chris, should attend this hearing, if they could. Also, that local police would be contacting Will in regards to the use of force Will exerted in Nick's capture. This was supposed to be a simple formality, but if it turned into anything else, Justin instructed Will to ask for an attorney and to call him right away. Justin would arrange one.

Will ended the Skype session with Justin, a bit bewildered. He felt a bit tired, a result of the medication; it was meant to make him sleep so his body could recover from his injuries. He decided to contact his Grandma Marlena next. He Skyped her, and like Justin, she appeared right away.

**"Hey there, sweetling! I've heard you've had a busy couple of days…How are you feeling?" **Will smiled at his grandmother. He never could hide much from her, so he decided he wouldn't start now: **"I'm feeling okay, Grandma. And yes , I know you are going to say, Okay? It's all I can give you right now."**

He went on to explain to her that he was confused about what happened with Nick. He talked about what he discussed with Sonny, obviously leaving out certain details; like the fact that he was naked when discussing this with Sonny. As usual, his grandmother was several steps ahead:

**"Will, how are you and Sonny doing? Are you opening up to him? Are you letting him in**?" Will smiled at his grandmother as he said:** "I love him so much Grandma, so much that I'm a bit scared. He wants me to tell him everything. And I have, for the most part. I've left certain gory details out, that I know I will tell him…soon. It scares me that someone…other than you…knows that much about me…But I also feel so good about it at the same time. He's the one Grandma. I thought it was Neil, and at the time it was…But Sonny is the one for me. I don't want to lose him. If I tell him all the gory details…I'm afraid he'll run"**

All Marlena had to say was:** "Has he run so far?" **And since the answer was of course: **"No" **According to Marlens Will had his answer. Sonny was indeed the one for him.

Will eventually ended his Skype session with his grandmother, and decided to rest. At 14:00 He was woken up yet again. Took more medication and was subjected to more questions. This was becoming seriously annoying. He replied to the e-mails from the police department and confirmed times that he was available to be interviewed, yet again. He then Skyped Dr. Pinot, who like all his other attempts that day, responded to him very quickly.

Dr. Pinot basically asked the same questions as Sonny and his Grandmother. He tried to not seem annoyed, but he apparently did not succeed**: "Will, I know you have a few people to talk to. And I know that it might seem like repetition… But sometimes it's good to repeat yourself to several people. Your relationship with Sonny is astounding to me. I'm glad you two found each other. Lean on him Will, he can take it. Trust him. I know you do, Just trust him more. I'm pretty good at reading people, and I think that he will not disappoint you."**

Will's question to Dr. Pinot involved bunnies. Will was anxious about Sonny being too over-protective. Dr. Pinot simply said: "**Will has it occurred to you that Sonny might have his own issues about bunnies? You might just simply ask him. I know he trusts you. He'll tell you."**

Will eventually fell asleep again. He was awakened by Sonny, who arrived after his last class of the day. It was after 18:00 and Sonny arrived with pizza. He extended his hand to a groggy Will, who took it and was led to Sonny's private area. Will's twenty-four hours were over. He thought**_: "Now I can have some fun."_**


	30. Chapter 30

Sonny sat down on his bed followed very closely by Will. Will positioned himself so that he was kneeling on the bed while Sonny was still sitting on the edge with his feet to the floor. Will started to nibble on Sonny's ear. He heard Sonny's contented moan, and was about to delve further, but then he stopped himself. **_"I wanted some fun but I need to do something first. I hope I'm doing the right thing here", _**he thought to himself. He placed a hand on Sonny's chin and brought Sonny's gaze towards his own. Sonny's eyes were filled with compassion and love. Will just hoped they stayed that way: **"Sunshine, I was talking to Dr. Pinot today, and he said something that got me thinking." **Sonny's expression didn't change**: "What did you talk about Lover?"** he said in his husky-sexy voice. Will smiled and thought **_"Okay Will, here goes…"_** and he whispered into Sonny's ear, just one word: **"Bunnies".**

Will quickly gazed into Sonny's eyes, and there it was; doubt, and just a hint of fear. Sonny straightened and said: **"Will, you are too tired for bunnies now and besides your doctors all think you should wait, and so do I"**

Will continued to smile, trying very hard to maintain a sense of sweetness; yet anticipating that Sonny was about to change, because of what Will wanted to say next: **"As I was talking to Dr. Pinot, it occurred to me, Sonny, I have scars. But you don't. And my equipment is working just fine."** And he lowered Sonny's chin so his gaze was downward. He saw the fear and dread in Sonny's expression increase dramatically. Sonny was desperately trying to not show something. **"Sonny, yesterday you told me that I could tell you anything, that I didn't have to fear your reaction because you loved me. Well, Sonny, that goes for you too. I love you so much. You can tell me anything Sonny. Sonny, are you sick? Is that it? Please say something…."**

Sonny looked at Will, tears were beginning to form inside his beautiful brown eyes: **"No Will. I'm not sick. At least I think I'm not. .." **Will had so many questions, but he kept his gaze on Sonny, desperately trying to show him love and compassion; waiting for Sonny to continue. Sonny eventually did: **"You know that you have to get tested for HIV in case Nick gave you something….Well I have to get tested because of Max…" **Will's eyes went wide: **"Is Max HIV positive?"** Sonny replied: **"He says he isn't Even showed me his report once…but…but…"** Sonny tried to look away from Will, but it was Will that wouldn't let Sonny's gaze drift away from his. Will leaned forward and gently whispered: **"Sonny, a wise man told me just yesterday, that I shouldn't ever be ashamed of my feelings…and Sonny…you don't either. Ever. Especially with me. Please….just say it….I love you so much Sonny…nothing you can say will ever change that…"**

Sonny's gaze deepened into Will's . He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Will's. Will responded by opening his mouth and Sonny's tongue slipped in. Their tongues tangoed until Will backed his head away a little, and prevented Sonny from moving forward again by placing a hand on Sonny's chest. **"Sonny, you are trying to change the subject", **he smiled, a little conspiratorial smile and said**: "No I'm not... but is it working?" **Will simply said:** "Whatever it is… I'll wait till you're ready. But…" **Sonny interrupted him by pressing forward again and planting Will with another kiss.

This time Sonny backed off**: "Will…I'm ready to tell you…I just don't know how you are going to react…are you ready? **Will simply nodded. And Sonny began to explain when Max had drugged Sonny, Max had alluded to the fact that Max and Sonny may not have been the only ones that 'had fun' that night. Sonny was very groggy and really couldn't remember anything. So Max had showed him a photo that Max took with his iPhone. It showed Sonny in the middle of a mêlée of some rather out-of-it looking college students. Some of whom were very much into the drug scene.

Will became wide-eyed. Sonny could tell that Will was reacting to a certain realization: **"Sonny…you were raped…even if you weren't just insinuating that you were…that was cruel...even for Max." **Before Sonny could stop him Will had shot off the bed and was heading to the door. Sonny grabbed at his arm and held firm.

**"I'll kill that effing bastard! My knees are really weak right now. There's no telling where they would accidentally end up if I saw him again!"**

Will then spun around and faced Sonny:** "And you…why didn't you tell me this before? What were you afraid of? That I wouldn't want to be around you because you might have gone through something like I did? Or, that I couldn't handle not being the center of attention anymore? What? What was it?"**

Will, then looked at Sonny's pained expression, and he instantly calmed down:** "Oh God Sonny, I'm sorry… It wasn't your fault. And I know why you didn't tell me. You've alluded to it often enough. You just didn't want me to have to go through anything more than I already have; even if this time it didn't even happen to me."**

Will shot back on the bed and grabbed Sonny's head and landed an enormously passionate kiss on Sonny's lips. This time it was Sonny whose mouth was forced open by the intensity of Will's lips and it was Will whose tongue started the dance.

Will again backed away from the kiss and looked at Sonny. **"You're Dad knew didn't he…that was why he wanted us to meet. And, my Grandma Marlena knew. And I'm guessing that Dr. Pinot also knew."** Sonny nodded: **"He was my therapist Will. I was having a hard time and I called the hotline. Even if there was nothing physically wrong with me, it still took a toll on me…and I needed some help."**

Will suddenly had a mortified look on his face: **"Wait a minute. Dr. Pinot divulged something to me that he shouldn't I'm surprised he did something that unethical. " **Sonny looked at Will shyly:** "Actually he didn't I had given him permission to tell you. He was the one that said that I should be the one to tell. When I couldn't he said he'd give me a little time…but eventually he'd force the issue…for both our sakes. I guess that is what he did."**

Will suddenly looked a bit annoyed: **"I can appreciate why you didn't want to tell me this Sonny. But, on the other hand, I'm not some fancy crystal vase that needs protection in case I break. I would have thought you of all people would have figured that out by now. Why couldn't you tell me Sonny? Don't you trust me?"**

Sonny looked at Will with so much love that it almost melted Will's heart right then and there: **"Of course I trust you Will. At first, when we first met, when you had your first flashback episode in front of me…I was afraid to tell you. I wanted you so much, even then. I didn't want to hurt you any more than you already were. I made a mistake that I couldn't easily back out of. I'm sorry."**

Will looked at Sonny: **"Sonny, you are my sunshine. You are the light of my heart. I understand why you omitted that. But you need to promise me something. In fact, we both need to promise each other, that we will never lie, or omit anything to each other, ever again." **Sonny could only say:** "I promise."**

And so for a good hour, Sonny and Will divulged secrets they both kept from the other. Sonny talked to Will about Max and about Daniel and Chris, in much more detail. He talked about his childhood and about his experiences in Europe, Asia and Uganda. Will talked about Nick; about his experiences with his cousin from a very early age. He talked about Neil and about why he was afraid to come out, even when he was accused of murder. And at the end of an hour they both understood the other a lot more. They both loved the other a lot more.

**"I'm so glad we got all this stuff off our chests Will."** said Sonny. **"You look tired. Maybe you should go back to your room."**

Will looked at Sonny as if Sonny had said something outrageous: **"You have got to be kidding me Sonny. We still need to resolve the 'bunnies' issue."** Will gave Sonny one of his sexy-on-purpose looks. Sonny smirked : **"Will. You are obviously too tired for anything that strenuous, Even if I would be up to it.; which I'm still not sure if I am. I don't want to scare you away, just because I have issues."**

Will smiled an incredibly joyful, yet sexy smile: **"Sonny, remember that day you massaged my scars?"** He waited for Sonny to nod. **"Well Sonny, that helped me so much. I think I have enough energy to help you in exactly that way."**

And so Will helped to undress Sonny; as Sonny had done to him the night before. Will caressed and nipped and touched every part of Sonny's exposed body, as each article of clothing came off. When Sonny was naked in front of a still clothed Will, Sonny stood there; his "little friend" alert and impatient. Yet Sonny let Will gaze upon him; letting his vulnerability speak wonders about how much he trusted Will. For his part, Will was simply mesmerized by Sonny's beauty: **"Sonny you are always saying how beautiful I am, and how much I don't realize it. But do you not realize how freaking hot you are? You are the most beautiful person I know. I would be honoured just to look at you. But I am even more honoured by your body's physical response to me."**

And so, Will started to undress in front of Sonny. Sonny could not help himself, as he advanced towards Will to help him in his task. And as each article of clothing fell to the floor, Sonny would glorify the exposed area in some way; whether it was by a kiss, a touch, a lick or some other form of caress.

Once they were both naked in front of the other. Sonny did as Will had done for him, not too long ago. He presented himself to Will; accepting an extremely vulnerable position, in a successful effort to prove to himself and to Will, that he did indeed trust Will, fully.

And for his part, Will tried very successfully to imitate the gestures that Sonny had performed on him. He, if fact, perfected them so much, that he ended up performing those same gestures, using his tongue.

And Sonny was in heaven.


	31. Chapter 31

Sonny, Will, Marc and Chris were seated in the observers section of a small courtroom located in the Ontario Supreme Court, Ottawa Regional office on Elgin Street. It was now Friday morning. Marc had insisted on coming even though he had a class scheduled. Will was missing his regular appointment with Dr. Pinot. Chris took the day off work. His employer wasn't too pleased since Chris was heavily involved in experiments that were reaching a critical phase.

This was a closed courtroom session. A few young people, who could only have been some of Nick Fallon's followers, tried to enter, but were stopped at the door. Sonny, Marc and Chris had special permission to attend. They were told to be very circumspect about it, and were under an obligation to not talk to reporters about what they would be witnessing.

Sonny was holding Will's hand, very tightly. On Will's other side sat Chris. Sonny was rather uncomfortable with how close Will and Chris had become since the incident at the bar. Even after everything that Sonny had told Will about them. In a way it might have been because of it. Will was very trusting. Even after everything that happened to him, he had a tendency to believe that there was good in everyone. Sonny loved that about him. And when Will came to him and actually asked Sonny for permission to get closer to Chris, and therefore Daniel, Sonny had asked him why. Sonny still smiled at Will's response:

**"Sonny, I trust you. I trust you with my everything. Because of what you told me, I don't trust Chris, or Daniel. But Chris was nice to me. I believe there is more to it than even you know. And I want to find out what it is. But I won't do it if you really don't want me to."**

Sonny had smiled at Will and then replied: **"If I said no, you'll begin to resent me, won't you my lover."** Will simply smirked at what Sonny said: **"Maybe a little, Sunshine, but I'd still love you more than I've ever loved anyone else."** And with that Sonny's smile got even bigger: **"Just promise me you'll be careful"**

And so Will had asked Daniel after class on Tuesday if he were seeing Chris for breakfast. Daniel said he was and Will asked if he could tag along; that he had something to ask Chris. Daniel said: **"By all means"**

And so Will sat down and talked to Chris. He thanked Chris for helping him out Saturday night. He had to interrupt Chris several times; Chris attempted repeatedly to apologize again, for his little stunt. **"Chris, Sonny told you it wasn't your fault, and so have I. Believe it. But if you feel that bad about it, I have a favour to ask. I'll be going to Nick Fallon's extradition hearing, sometime Friday. Could you be there? I'll need as much moral support as I can get."** Chris had smiled and he had agreed.

Chris was fidgeting in his seat. The court-house was filling up with lawyers and some reporters. Officers filed in, escorting Nick Fallon to the accused's area. Behind them was Nick's defense attorney. The crown attorney filed in next, followed by a few other attorneys, one of whom was representing Will's and Sonny's interests, and others were representing the interests of the United States of America and Salem's District Attorney's Office.

The judge was announced. Everyone rose. The judge seated herself. She indicated everyone to be seated. And then the fun began. **"Well, lots of people here today, I see."** She looked at Nick Fallon, who was dressed in prison garb and handcuffed. His expression was very neutral. **"Alright Mr. Fallon. For the benefit of all the new faces. This is an evidentiary trial to determine whether you should be extradited to the United States of America where you face charges of aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, and first degree murder stemming from the aggravated assault."** She went on to say that these were extremely serious charges, that the crown has presented rather compelling evidence that you indeed should face these charges. **"Your lawyer, Mr. Fallon made a somewhat compelling argument that since one of the victims in this case is available as a witness, you should have the right to face the evidence of his witness. I agreed, with certain stipulated restrictions"**

The Crown Attorney stood and addressed the court: **"Your honour, thank you. In the interest of expediency, I therefore call William Robert Horton to the stand." **Will let go of Sonny's hand, walked to the witness box, was sworn in and was asked several questions about the day he was assaulted; very specific questions about his injuries and questions about what he personally witnessed concerning Nick's assault on Neil.

After these questions the Crown Attorney thanked Will and said to the judge: **"Your Honour, I reserve the right to redirect after cross-examination."** Will saw the judge nod. Will thought to himself: **_"That wasn't so bad"_**

Nick Fallon's lawyer, a Clive Weinstein, stood up and walked towards Will. **"Your Honour, I wish to beg your indulgence concerning the direction I will be taking in this cross-examination. The evidence seems overwhelming but we could end this all right here if Mr. Horton simply admits to certain truths." **

The judge, nodded but added**: "Mr. Weinstein, since this is not a trial per say, you will refrain from making the witness uncomfortable."** Mr. Weinstein frowned: **"I would like to enter a certain photo into evidence that will demonstrate a point."** The judge nodded. On the wide-screen in the corner of the room, a picture appeared, followed by a cry of **"Oh my God!" **from the observer's area.

Chris had stood up, a look of shock on his face. Sonny had also stood up, his jaw slack with shock. There were exclamation all over the room. **"How did you get that?"** shouted Chris. It was a picture of Will and Sonny in an obvious passionate embrace. Will was clearly wearing only a blazer, his torso very visible.

**"Sir, please refrain from any outbursts in the courtroom or you will be removed!"** Chris breathed and forced himself to calm down**: "Your Honour, that photo is a still from a video taken from security cameras in my apartment; security cameras that were mistakenly turned on. The video in question was deleted immediately after it was discovered. I personally deleted it. How did they get that picture?"**

Several attorney's including the attorney representing Will and Sonny, and the Crown Attorney were voicing their own objections. **"Gentlemen and ladies, I will have calm!"**

Mr. Weistein simply shrugged:** "The picture was found on the internet Your Honour, fair use."**

Sonny looked at Chris who still seemed mortified:** "Sonny I swear, I really don't know how they got it. I will be talking to Daniel. Believe me. " **Both Chris and Sonny sat down.

Sony watched Will sitting on the witness bench, his face turned bright red, his blue eyes sparkling with the beginning fervour of an angry outburst. Sonny only hoped Wiill would remain calm. He got Will's attention and simply tilted his head and mouthed:** "I love you, my lover" **Will immediately calmed down.

In the meantime, lawyers were still shouting. The judge lifted her hand and there was immediate silence: **"Decorum please…." **She turned her attention to one of the attorneys:** "Mr. FitzGerald, I appreciate that you are here on behalf of Salem's District Attorney's office. Your calls of objection are a little out of place here; however I too would like to know this photo's relevance, since it seems to have been taken post-incident. Mr. Weinstein?"**

Mr. Weinstein shrugged again: **"Your honour, the picture demonstrates the effect Will Horton's sexuality has on my client's state of mind."** Everyone's focus was then on Nick's reaction to the photo, Nick's face was curled up in disgust, hatred clearly showing on his face. Mr. Weinstein then asked Will: **"Mr. Horton, were you half-dressed on the day of the alleged incident?" **Will cocked his head trying to remember**: "My shirt might have been unbuttoned…" **

The Crown Attorney, was the loudest among many of the attorneys who voiced objections: **"Your Honour. This line of questioning is preposterous. Whether Mr. Horton has a history of being sexually outgoing; or whether he looks great half-naked; which he clearly does, has absolutely no bearing on the weight of the evidence that has been presented. As Your Honour has clearly stated, this is not a trial…The defense is clearly using this court as a means to intimidate the witness and to establish a defense…" **The judge lifted her hand: "**Thank You Miss Hartley." **She turned her attention to Mr. Weinstein**: "Mr. Weinstein, you are treading on dangerous ground. " **

Mr. Weinstein ignored the judge: **"Mr. Horton. Do you enjoy the attention? Just admit that you have sought attention; that you enjoy provoking people. That you knew my client had an aversion to your behaviour and that you enjoyed provoking him!"**

Most people in the room had thought Will's answer would have been: "**_But I didn't know he would be there that day."_**And, that is probably what Will should have said; but he didn't say that. Instead he said: **"I kissed Nick when he was twelve. I was ten."**

Even Mr. Weinstein was taken aback by that, although he was hoping for that response: **"Pardon me?",** he asked. **"When I was ten and Nick was twelve I kissed him. It was an innocent kiss. …"** Mr. Weinstein interrupted Will**:" So you admit you had been after my client. And that was probably not the only incident. His reaction to you could have been for cause. Thank you , Mr. Horton." **He turned to the judge and said: **"Notwithstanding the evidence against my client. Mr. Horton has admitted that he deliberately provoked Mr. Fallon, since they were young. Mr. Horton enjoys provoking my client. He did something similar on the night of Nick's capture by the local authorities. Will Horton assaulted my client…"**

Again there were various calls of objection; and again the Crown Attorney was loudest: **"Your Honour! No charges have been laid against Mr. Horton, nor will there ever be any. It is clear, by witness accounts, including those of veteran police officers that Mr. Horton acted in self defense!"**

The judge turned to Mr. Weinstein and said**: "Mr. Weinstein. I warned you to be respectful of Mr. Horton. You have not done so. I am ending this cross-examination. But before I do…"** She then turned to Will and said : **"Mr. Horton… I am sure the Crown attorney, the attorney representing you and most of the others sitting over there…"** and she pointed to the pack of lawyers itching to say something, **"would want you to continue what Mr. Weinstein interrupted…:"** Will took a deep breath and continued: **"The kiss was innocent. I didn't know what I was doing. I was only ten. But it stirred something in Nick. He wouldn't leave me alone after that. He treated me violently; he pushed me and shoved me. He called me names. Then later he tried to make me kiss him again. Years passed and he still tried. I was confused. I know what he was going through, the way he was brought up. I grew up in a similar way. It took me a very long time to accept myself for who I am. He never could accept himself. He created a religion around it."**

Before the defense attorney could object, the judge dismissed Will from the witness box. Will returned to Sonny's arms and got a very caring hug. Sonny looked at Will and said:** "You were amazing, and brave Will. I'm proud of you." **Sonny then gave Will a very passionate kiss.

The judge waited for things to settle down. She raised her hand and received the quiet that to requested: **"In light of the evidence presented by the Crown Attorney on behalf of the United States government and the Salem District Attorney…. I find that there is sufficient evidence to require the immediate deportation of Nick Fallon. So ordered." **She rose and exited the court chamber, indicating court was no longer in session.


	32. Chapter 32

**NOTE:** Following there will be rather explicit sexual language and situations. If this bothers you please refrain from reading.

For Sonny, Friday night could not have come fast enough. Will's head was resting on his lap. The movie they were watching was just about to finish. Sonny had his fingers in Will's hair, running them through each silky blond strand. For his part, Will had his eyes closed. He really didn't care about the movie. He was relishing every stroke of Sonny's fingers, purring with contentment. As he continued stroking Will's hair Sonny could not help but think back to earlier that day:

Sonny had a hold of Will's hand. They were just outside the courtroom, minutes earlier, Nick had tried to storm past the guards to attack Will; shouting very personal and hurtful slurs; basically accusing Will of ruining his life., and that God would see to it that Will was punished. Nick also shouted that it wasn't over. Nick would see to it that Will would pay for being Satan's pawn.

When Chris brushed past them Sonny put a hand to Chris' elbow to stop him. Chris turned and before Sonny, or Will could say anything he said: **"Will….Sonny… I really don't know how they got that video. I swear to you that I deleted that camera footage myself. I know I did. I will try and get to the bottom of this…"** Sonny looked at Chris, and tried to keep his voice steady: **"Chris, you and I both know that Daniel has a fondness for videos just like that. I hope for your sake that this was an accident. "**

Chris looked directly at Will: **"Will, please believe me, I had nothing to do with this."** Will just stared blankly at Chris: **"It's okay Chris I believe you. In any case I have more important things to worry about then…" **He stopped, his eyes going wide and looked at Sonny: **"Sonny, did the Crown Attorney really say that I looked great half-naked?"** Sonny smiled at Will, squeezed his hand, and said: **"We all think that Will."** And he gave Will a peck on the cheek. Will simply shook his head**: "Nick's followers aren't going to like this one bit."**

Sonny bent down towards Will's exposed ear and whispered:** "The movie is over Will. I would love some alone time with you. Do you think you are up for it?" **Will sprang to his feet and held out a hand. Sonny grasped it and was propelled upwards by a rather enthusiastic pull from Will:** "Let's hope we don't get interrupted like we did at dinner; although it did turn out to be rather interesting." **Both Sonny and Will smiled, as they both remembered:

Sonny and Will sat together, in a secluded area of one of the more exclusive restaurants in Ottawa. They both had wanted Marc to join them, but Marc insisted that they have some time alone together: **"Go out and have dinner together. You two deserve some time alone. I'll just go out with some friends. No clubbing, or dating, not for a while yet."**

Sonny and Will knew that they weren't entirely alone. They still had a security detail. Will had thought to himself several times now:** "****_I wonder if movie stars have to deal with this much security?" _**

Sonny had insisted they eat a good expensive meal since this was going on his emergency credit Will was going to make a fuss, Sonny simply said: **"My Dad insisted. His exact words were…"** and Sonny did air-quotes **"Sonny-boy, you go out tonight and treat that wonderful young man of yours to a special dinner. And tell him I'm proud of him"**. Will couldn't help himself; he laughed and his face reddened with embarrassment: **"I like your dad a lot."**

Sonny had ordered stewed rabbit soup for both Sonny and Will. He had looked at Will when he did that, and he had received the desired effect. Will had raised his beautiful full blond eyebrows, making his blue-sapphire eyes shine gloriously; and mouthed one wonderful word: **_"Bunnies?"_** Sonny had acknowledged their little inside joke by simply winking; and he ordered Steak and Lobster Tail as well. And so did Will. Sonny had ordered a bottle of wine. And then set one of the water glasses aside so that Will could have a taste of it, but just a taste.

The conversation was light. It wasn't that they didn't have important things to talk about. They could have discussed the trial, and Nick and Chris, and the video; but they chose not to. They told childhood stories. They talked about Marc. They both thought of Marc as a brother, and wanted the best for him. They thought of ways of getting him a date. Maybe if they did it, he wouldn't end up with a crazy person. They laughed. They cooed at each other. There were ample moments of just looking into each other's eyes and holding hands.

As Sonny and Will were just about to order dessert, but were still heavily involved in the other, they both turned at the sound of a cough. It was Detective Harold Whitman: **"Hello there gentlemen. I know I am intruding; but I won't take long. I need to discuss a few things; and the powers that be would prefer it not be official. So here I am."**

The detective grabbed a nearby chair and sat down. Sonny was desperately trying not to look annoyed. Will could tell that he clearly was. Will suspected that the detective could very easily detect that too; so he tried to be diplomatic: **"What can we do for you detective?"** he asked as politely as he could in the moment.

**"Well… I have been instructed to update you on Nick Fallon. He is now in a high security prison near Salem. His trial there will re-start fairly soon. Will, someone will contact you about that…"** He hesitated a moment and then resumed**: "about the video that Nick's defense attorney showed the court this morning…We have finished a preliminary investigation as to how Nick's lawyer ended up in possession of it…"**

He adjusted himself in his seat, then continued: **"It seems that it was taken from a website that showed various individuals, usually two or more people in rather compromising positions. We found a few images and one video of you Will…" **He turned to Sonny: **"And a lot more of you Sonny; in rather…suggestive situations…"** The detective waited for Sonny to react.

Finding that Sonny did not, he nodded and continued again: **"Considering the reaction this morning of a certain Christopher MacMillan., we believe he and his husband Daniel Horvitz are most likely involved."** Again the detective waited for a reaction and didn't receive any. **"We don't know how involved they are, but the websites, that your images were found on, are linked to rather more pornographic sites, as well as a few prostitution rings. We were hoping either of you could shed some light on this…"**

Sonny sighed and finally spoke:** "Detective….I was aware that there were suggestive photos of me on the internet…I was shown them. I was also told that they would be destroyed….Neither Will nor I were ever involved in any…unseemly…activity…"**

The detective nodded:** "We didn't think you were. Quite frankly, your photos and videos are way too tame. Although these types of images are used, sometimes…to entice individuals….into a certain lifestyle…Has anyone tried?"**

Sonny spoke again for himself and Will:** "No detective… although there were hints… but I would have none of it…" **The detective shifted in his seat again: **"If anyone does try to contact you again, or you Will, I would like you to inform me. I would also like to ask a favour; would either of you be willing to get closer to these Chris and Daniel characters…"** Will interrupted Detective Whitman: **"Sir, I've already started doing that, for personal reasons; if you would like me to do anything more formally, I'd be willing." **And with that said, after a few pleasantries, the detective left the two obviously-in-love young men alone to enjoy their desserts.

Sonny led Will, as was tradition, towards his private space. This time he let Will open the door. And when it was opened and Will walked inside, he was immediately struck dumb. He turned around immediately and planted a wonderfully passionate kiss on Sonny's lips.

The room was covered in lit candles; this wasn't anything new. What was new, were all the various types of bunnies placed around the room and on the bed. No real bunnies. But there were big white stuffed bunnies, and little brown ones, chocolate bunnies and gummy-bunnies.

Will withdrew from the kiss, enough to be able to talk and gaze into Sonny's eyes, his lips still brushing Sonny's, with every word. He whispered in a sexy-husky voice; **"Sonny, what are you trying to say?"** Sonny smiled and said, while still maintaining closeness: **"Firstly, do you know how difficult it is to get bunnies of any sort, not during Easter? And second….look closer…." **He allowed Will to turn and examine the bed more closely.

On the bed were two medical reports, one of which was still sealed. There was a note to Will from Dr. Pinot. There were various lubricants and condoms strewn across the bed. Will lifted up and read the unsealed medical report, and looked at Sonny. Sonny Smiled and said: **"I'm all good."** Will placed that report down and opened and unsealed the other one. After reading it, he placed it down next to the first and sighed: **"Me too…"** he said **"but I need to get tested at least one more time." **

Sonny edged closer to Will and hugged him from behind: **"Will, we should both get tested every three months, regardless. Even though I have no intentions whatsoever, of doing anything with anyone else but you. Ever. It's still good to be careful." **He kissed Will on the nape of his neck.

Will then read the letter from Dr. Pinot. He smiled and then he let out a little nervous laugh. Sonny smiled and said: **"Care to share Will? You don't have to…" **Will turned to Sonny, slightly red-faced. Sonny thought that Will's inability to hide his nervousness or embarrassment extremely endearing.

**"It's just a reminder that "bunnies" isn't necessary**; **that not all gay men have anal sex. But if I think I am ready and if you are too, Sonny, then we should go for it. He's recommended a position for us to use, at first. He wants to know all the details, he said …"** and Will did the air-quotes thing **"As your doctor, not a perv"**. Will smiled and saw that Sonny was trying to stifle a laugh as well: **"Oh and he says that whatever we decide tonight, or in the future, this is something he will not be relating back to my grandmother…" **Again Will did the air-quotes gesture **"Just so you know".**

Sonny went over and hugged Will again and smiled : **"I really like that guy."** He then tried to maintain a more serious face, and gazed deeper into Will's blue eyes: **"Lover, I trust you so much… and if this is something that you want to do…then I will do it with you. You can do me first and see how you feel. And even though I know why…tell me again why you need to do this."**

Will gazed into Sonny's beautiful brown eyes, with all the love he could muster: **"Sunshine, you know that I feel that Nick took something from me that day. I want it back. I also don't want to think of Nick anymore when I think of "bunnies…"** he put a finger to Sonny's lips, before Sonny could say anything: **"I know, my Sunshine, what Nick did was violence not love, but I still need this. I want to think of you and only you when I think of "bunnies"…" **

And So they undressed together, kissing each other's exposed skin as their articles of clothing flew away from them, and onto to floor. And when they were both naked, Sonny grabbed a condom and after lubricating Will's 'little friend' placed the condom on it. He then prepared himself.

Will pushed all the fluffy bunnies aside, most landing, soundless, on the floor; and Will lay on his back and Sonny lowered himself onto Will very slowly.

Will could see that Sonny had a slight burst of pain but then Sonny looked at Will and his face relaxed. Then Sonny started to move and Will and Sonny were in heaven. Will could feel Sonny's warmth. He saw Sonny's love, and passion. And he felt so good that he could finally feel so close to someone.

Sonny looked at Will, as he thrust his hips up and down and could see Will becoming more and more excited. It felt so good to be able to make Will feel this good. Will was his everything.

When Will and Sonny were finally spent and had relaxed in each other arms, Will took another condom and placed it on Sonny's 'little friend', who had suddenly woken up again. Will prepared himself with the lubricant and straddled Sonny, looking at Sonny's face the whole time.

When Will felt Sonny inside him, he felt a sudden pain. It was not just physical. It was all the memories of what happened on another day. But Will simply looked at Sonny's face, which was filled with love and compassion and concern. The pain left him. What was left was love and Sonny's beautiful face. And as Will began to thrust harder and faster, Will saw that Sonny became more excited, and that excited Will.

When Sonny got so excited that his body convulsed, in pleasure, Will could feel the result of that thrust even though it was contained by latex. When Sonny calmed down and Will also finished, Will lowered himself to Sonny's lips and again passionately kissed him, as he had done so many times that night. Will then went to Sonny's ear and whispered: **"You know that technically this isn't how bunnies do it, right?" **Sonny laughed, rolled Will off of him and whispered in Will's ear: **"All in due time, my lover, all in due time."**


	33. Chapter 33

Saturday morning had arrived. The sun had been up for a while; and so had Sonny and Will. Will had spent the night. He had only done that a handful of times. It hadn't been part of Will's plan that night, but he and Sonny had shared each other so many times, in so many ways that it was extremely late by the time they were done. And so, Will had simply curled up with Sonny and they fell asleep together.

Sonny had woken up first. He laid in bed propped on his elbow, staring at Will sleeping. It was a beautiful sight. Will was a beautiful sight to behold under any circumstances, but seeing his naked back and arms; the peaceful rhythm of his breathing; Will was just simply magnificent.

Sonny thought back to the wonderful night they shared together. He had been a little apprehensive about Will's reaction, but also his own, when it came to what he and Will now affectionately refer to, almost always now, as 'bunnies'.

They exhausted themselves by exploring each other's bodies; experiencing such a closeness, that neither one of them had ever felt before. Sonny had been afraid that he was pushing Will's physical limits; but Will had reassured him often that he was fine. They took things very slow, and very gently, but with a passion that one could only call...intense.

Eventually Sonny's body started to react to the fact that Will was basically naked next to him; so very, very close, and extremely sexy. He started marking light patterns, basically doodles, on Will's back and exposed thigh and leg, with the tip of his index finger.

That eventually had the desired effect; to wake Will up. At first Sonny felt Will make little movements, reacting to Sonny's touch. And then Sonny could hear little moans of pleasure escaping from Will's lips. Then the stirring became larger stretching movements and eventually Will was awake.

**"Well hello there my Lover"** said Sonny, as he bent down and started pecking at the nape of Will's neck. **"How do you feel this fine morning?"**

Will twisted his body, so that he was facing Sonny. He grabbed Sonny's hair and planted an enormously sensuous and passionate kiss that Sonny returned with much fervor. Will released Sonny from the kiss, smiled and said: **"Last night was the best night of my entire life. Thank you so much."** And he jerked forwards again to plant another kiss on Sonny's very willing lips.

After several more intimate moments, Will traipsed back to his room. It was now mid-morning. He opened the door and tip-toed to his side of the room. He was carrying several of the stuffed bunnies in his arms. Suddenly, he heard a high pitch shriek-giggle coming from Marc side of the room.

He turned around to see Marc pointing to the stuffed animals, an enormous smile on his face: **"Do those signify what I think they do?" **Will rolled his eyes and said: **"None of your business, you pervert." **He smirked, and said what had become a running joke with Marc: **"Are you sure you're straight? You always seem really interested in my love life."**

Marc continued the friendly banter with a new one: **"Well, based on the noise coming from those walls…"** and he pointed to the walls behind Will, **"I'd say you two had a good time last night."**

Will's face turned a radish shade of red; he was embarrassed for several reasons; one reason was because he wasn't used to talking about, much less having other people share in his very intimate moments, like he had with Sonny; another reason was that deep down, he still didn't quite believe he deserved to be as happy as he was at that moment; and still another reason was that talking about this kind of thing to Marc of all people was a little bit, well, "ewwww". After all Marc was like a brother to him.

Marc noticed Will's reaction and smiled: **"Oh come on Will. Spill the beans! This is a big deal! Just make it PG-13 for me. You know, my sensitive and straight ears and all."**

Will smirked again. Marc was always saying for Will to discuss personal things but make it PG-13. Will was sure that Marc could probably handle much more than what Will was comfortable in explaining; and that was the reason for all this PG-13 talk. And Will was grateful for that.

He sat there talking with Marc and hugged his bunnies. Will was happy. He was grateful to have Sonny in his life. But he was just as grateful for Marc. And he decided that now was the time to express it: **"Marc, can I say something to you?" **

Marc looked at Will and noticed Will had his I-am-going-to-say-something-sappy-and-personal look on his face, all scarlet and embarrassed. Marc decided that he would reserve judgement about teasing Will after he said what he had to say. Marc had learned that sometimes, when Will expressed his true feelings, that it wasn't the time to tease; because Will would find it that much harder to open up again. Marc didn't want that for Will. He wanted the exact opposite.

However, he still couldn't help a little teasing: **"Sure Will, just know that whatever you have to say, unlike with Sonny, I will not sleep with you afterwards." **Will scrunched up with face in feigned disgust:** "I can live with that."**

And so Will sighed, to give himself time to collect his thoughts**: "I just wanted to thank you, Marc. If not for you I would never have opened up myself to Sonny…"** And when he saw that look on Marc's face, the You-Just-Said-Something-I-Can-Tease-You-About look, he said: **"No, Not that way...Well …Yes that way…Marc! Geeze! What I'm trying to say is that I glad I met you; and I'm glad you cared enough to help me express my feelings…"**

Marc walked up to Will, gave him a brotherly hug and said: **"Will, you are a good guy. You deserve to be happy. I'm glad you are letting yourself be happy…finally."**

Both Marc and Will jumped when they heard someone from the hallway say: **"I'm glad too."** It was Sonny. He walked in and closed the door: **"You two need to learn to close doors, you know that, right?"**

Sonny walked up to Marc and gave him a brotherly punch on the shoulder: **"I want to second what Will just said. Thank You Marc. We both thank you. You are a great guy. And we want to return the favour, some day."**

Marc looked at Sonny and then Will:** "Are you honestly saying that you, two gay guys, are going to try and set me up with a hot straight woman?"**

Sonny smirked and said: **"That would be the plan. But first, breakfast"**

Sonny, Will and Marc set off for the UniCentre Cafeteria. Last night, after the meeting with Detective Whitman, Will had texted Chris and invited him and Daniel, if he were available, to breakfast. Apparently, Daniel had some work to do in the morning and would want to take a breakfast break at around 11:00. Chris said that he would most likely join them. Will had texted back: **_"c u there"_**

All three marched to the cafeteria, got some breakfast and searched for a place to sit. Will was aware where Chris and Daniel usually sat, and headed there first. Sure enough, Chris was sitting at his usual table.

Will and Sonny sat together and Marc sat on Chris' side of the table. They all said their hellos. And then Chris smiled. He had noticed that Sonny and Will were even cozier than they usually were. And like Marc, he immediately guessed what had happened: **"Holy cozy guys! Let me guess, you two finally acted like… bunnies… that what you call it right? Congratulations! You two were meant for each other… I'm really happy for you!"**

Will leaned into Sonny and said: **"Sunshine… did you tattoo me without me knowing or something? First Marc knew and now Chris… It's a bit embarrassing…"** Will's embarrassment certainly did show; his face was scarlet.

Chris simply shook his head and rolled his eyes: **"You both are much closer than you ever have been. It's obvious. Don't worry Will. And besides, you shouldn't be embarrassed. You both are great together!"**

Pleasantries of this sort continued, as the four of them ate their respective breakfast. Eventually Will thought it was time to broach the subject of the video: **"Chris, last time we spoke you said you were going to talk to Daniel about that video. Did you?"**

Chris took on a more serious look and posture: **"Yes I did. Apparently, Daniel had downloaded to one of his FTP sites and the video was accessed without authorization."**

Chris couldn't help but notice three very skeptical looks directed his way: **"I know. I Know. It's rather unlikely. But that is what he says. You have to understand Will, that Daniel has a thing for good looking couples. And the two of you, especially the way you were acting last week, certainly qualify."**

Chris sighed:** "I feel terrible about this. What happened to you, Will, in that courtroom, was wrong. Just wrong. You shouldn't have to deal with that kind of crap. And then to have to deal with videos floating around…I understand if you're upset; and I don't blame you if you blame me. But again, I had nothing to do with this. I like you both way too much for that"**

Both Will and Sonny had the feeling that what Chris said was the truth. They both had the feeling that Chris really did like both of them, in a way that made both Will and Sonny rather uncomfortable.

Even so, even though they were uncomfortable, they needed to get to the bottom of this. And to do this they needed to get close to Chris and Daniel. So, to that end, Will said:** " Chris, I believe you. Why don't the four of us get together one night this week and discuss this. Maybe over dinner?"**

Mark took in this conversation, and when Will got to the part where he basically invited himself and Sonny to dinner with creepy Chris and his creepy husband, he simply went slack-jawed and speechless. He looked at Sonny with eyes that said:** "What the hell is going on?" **Sonny looked back with eyes that said:** "We'll tell you later….maybe"**


	34. Chapter 34

Sonny hugged Will very closely as they looked onto St-Catherine Street from their hotel in Montreal. It was Canadian Thanksgiving weekend; and since Will and Sonny's families would not be celebrating Thanksgiving for another month and a half, and when Chris and Daniel suggested that Sonny and Will accompany them to the Black & White Festival, they said **"Sure. Why not?" **Montreal was a great city; the perfect blend of North American Urbanism and European Cosmopolitism,and only two hours away from Ottawa, by car.

Sonny smirked, as he held Will closer. He couldn't help remember how they got here. And even before that, the conversation that Will and he had with Marc after that breakfast on Saturday was hilarious:

**"Okay, you two, you better spill the effing beans, right this instant; because quite frankly I am amazed; no, I am appalled; no… no… I am freaking out… yeah… freaking out… that you two would be this cozy with those two, after what happened at the extradition hearing. I mean….come on! Dinner? Really?"**

Sonny recalled that, as an opening statement, even for Marc, that was quite something;

When neither Sonny nor Will said anything, that is when Marc lost it. They were back in Will's and Marc's room and Marc grabbed two of Will's bunnies, and shook them hard, very hard, together, kind of like 'bunny' simulation. **"Has your recent intimate activity gone to your heads? And I mean the ones on your shoulders, because apparently…."**

He visibly shook. Sonny and Will were really enjoying Marc's discomfort for a variety of reasons; not the least of which was the fact that this outburst was yet another demonstration of just how much Marc really cared about the two of them: **"That Daniel guy gives me the effing creeps; and Chris really isn't any better! I know you guys are cooking something up! Do you not trust me?! Haven't we all gone through enough!?"**

Sonny decided to let Marc off the hook. Will started to laugh, in apparent indication that he enjoyed Marc's discomfort, maybe just a little too much**: "Marc, okay. We have been asked to help in an investigation. We are supposed to get closer to Daniel and Chris…"**

Marc 's imagination got the better of him and he said:** "The police don't want you to pretend to be… like PROSTITUTES… or something… do they?"**

Sonny rolled his eyes:** "No Marc..just strippers." **And without missing a beat Marc said: **"I could see Will doing that. His body is kind of smoking, as they say." **Will, who was now beat red, shook his head and wagged his finger at both of them:** "You two stop that."**

And so, Marc was told the brief outline of the plan, which was simply to get Chris and Daniel's trust, by flirting with them a little. This in itself could be rather dangerous; mostly on a personal level, but it could seriously backfire for Will, who needed to pass Daniel's course. To lighten the mood, Marc had smirked and said: **"I could flirt with them. They'd tell all in a second." **Will and Sonny looked at each other and simply started laughing. Marc looked incredulous:** "What? I'm hot" **Sonny and Will laughed even more.

Will looked down at all the people walking by on the street. It was a very busy time, mid Saturday morning. They had a nice day planned, of sight-seeing and relaxing during the day and dancing and clubbing that night. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Will heard a familiar voice saying: **"Room service!"**

The voice belonged to Roxy, a rather feisty RCMP officer, who was undercover as a maid, in this rather nice hotel. She had introduced herself last night, about an hour after they had arrived and just before they had gone out to dinner.

A rather similar knock on the door and a call of **"Room Service!"** had been heard. Sonny had answered the door after asking Will if he had ordered anything. He knew he hadn't And when Will had shook his head, Sonny had wondered if Chris or Daniel had arranged something. Their room was across the hall. And they had promised that there would be a few surprises.

In walked a shortish, dark haired woman, in a blue maids outfit. She looked quite stunning even in that uniform. She brought a small tray of goodies in and said: **"This is courtesy of the RCMP."** She then introduced herself and went right into the real reason she was there: **"Okay les gars, I just want you to know that we, meaning an RCMP special unit, will be around this hotel and following your movements at a discreet distance. We will be searching your room while you are out on a regular basis for any video surveillance. We were informed to leave them be and monitor them. The question is, do you two gorgeous guys want to know you are being filmed, or do you want us to tell you later."**

Sonny and Will opted for being told if a concealed video camera was spotted but they both didn't want to know where the cameras were. Roxie thought about it, and said: **"Well boys. This is a rather small room. If the room camera has a microphone, wouldn't you want to know if you could be yourselves…"** and she gave them a look that indicated she meant that in a more intimate way**…"at least somewhere?"** Will and sonny discussed it and said that they would probably enjoy that. And where the cameras were would determine how they would behave. They would decide how intimate they would be when the time came.

After they came back that night, there was a note from Roxie; all it said was: **"As per instructions, your bathroom will be cleaned later, as will your bed. The sofa is clean and so are the windows" **This meant no one could see them or hear them if they were near the sofa or the windows. But everywhere else they would have to be careful what they said and how they acted. Knowing that they were being watched in the shower was a bit unnerving, for Will especially.

They were rather tired when they got back to the room; and after reading the note, they decided to spend some quality time on the couch. They fondled one another and Sonny noticed that Will was rather a bit too loud in his responses.

He looked at Will questioningly and stifled a laugh at Will's whispered response: **"Well, they need to know we are at least doing something intimate. I am not doing a 'bunnies' free show but…" **Will then abruptly stood up and presented his hand to Sonny, who looked at him quizzically. Will stooped down and whispered: "**I say we give them a show. But we do it under the covers…and let's try and be silent. That'll really rattle someone's cage."**

Sonny nodded and they went to bed, undressed and explored each other under the covers. Will tried not to, but things got a little too enthusiastic, and he made a lot more noise than he wanted.

When Sonny opened the door, he wasn't sure if he should acknowledge Roxie or not, so he let it be her call. She said hello and went to the small table near the window, where she placed the tray. She then wished both Will and Sonny a good day and promptly left, dropping her cellphone in the process. Sonny saw it picked up the cellphone and promptly left the room to deliver it to her. Will, meanwhile had noticed that 'the maid' had left her security card; and he too left the room.

They all met in the stairway and discussed the implication of the cameras. Roxy thought that Sonny should 'find' one of them and then later that afternoon they could mention it to Daniel and Chris and note their reaction. The RCMP had not been able to pinpoint where the feed was being stored but they were able to piggy-back on the feed. When Roxy got to that point in the discussion she said: **"You two apparently had some fun last night. And that whole under-the-covers-thing…was apparently really hot." **

Sonny and Will went back to the room so they could discover the camera. In order to do that, they planned to get quite frisky.


	35. Chapter 35

Sonny brought Will to a part of the room that wasn't in view of any cameras, that area being near the window, where they had started their morning. Sonny hugged Will from behind, just as he had been doing before Roxy had come calling. As per wrapped his strong arms around Will's waist, he whispered in Will's ear. Normally they would be sweet nothings, just as Will liked it. But for the moment they were: **"Will, as Roxy indicated, one of the cameras is located above the headboard, I think it's time we tested just how sturdy that headboard is; and I've always wanted to know what it's like to jump on a king sized bed…"**

As a response to Sonny's suggestion, Will turned around very suddenly in Sonny's arms; his arms going directly to Sonny's face and hair; his lips to Sonny's lips. Will worked his hips, forcing Sonny to step backwards repeatedly. Sonny let himself be slightly off balance, and sure enough, he felt Will give him a little push. He let himself fall, hoping; no, not hoping, but trusting. Trusting in Will, that Will would not allow Sonny have anything but a soft landing. And sure enough he felt the down comforter on his back.

Shortly after Sonny, came Will. Will was bursting with sexual tension; letting it all out; trying not to think of any cameras. Will wanted Sonny. That was it. That was all. And Sonny responded. Even fully clothed Will was hot. Sonny decided to push the envelope a little and lifted his hips slightly, grinding into Will.

That certainly did the trick for Will. He was more than a little excited. He placed himself, so he was to one side of Sonny and grabbed Sonny's jersey, pulling Sonny upwards and then pushing Sonny into the headboard, knocking it rather forcefully.

Then he grabbed Sonny's jersey again, pulling him up, grinding himself into Sonny, kissing him. They could both hear the rather loud "knock, knock, knock" of the headboard. Will took time away from kissing Sonny and whispered gently in Sonny's ear: "**How am I doing?"**

In response to Will's raspy-whispered question, Sonny, in his turn, grabbed Will and twisted him, so that Will was now facing the rather long headboard. Sonny grabbed Will's wrists and made them impact with the headboard and started grinding Will from behind, all the while nipping and kissing the nape of Will's neck. And sure enough Sonny and Will both noticed this rather tiny black thing fall from the edge of the headboard, on one of the pillows.

Just as they were set to vocalize their little discovery they heard a knock on the door. Will suddenly got all red-faced with embarrassment and whispered: **"Did we wake the neighbours?" **Sonny wasn't embarrassed; he was annoyed and let out a rather loud:** "Go away!"**

Will managed to free himself from Sonny, and jumped off the bed and scampered to the door saying as he went: **"Sonny! I hope we didn't wake up the neighbours!" **He got to the door and opened it. There was Chris with a huge grin on his face:** "What were you two doing in there?" **He shouted to Sonny:** "Go away? Really, Sonny?" **And he started laughing, as he stepped into the room.

Sonny, who was still on the bed, but now crouching down, his fingers very close to what Sonny assumed was a micro-camera, looked up at Chris. He said, a little too emotionally, with far more anger than he had intended: **"Chris. What are you doing here? We were kind of busy."**

Chris smirked a little, recognizing the anger in Sonny's tone, but interpreting it as annoyance to being interrupted while doing something rather intimate:** "Whatever you were doing must have been pretty intense, especially since you are both still dressed."**

Sonny looked at Chris. He tried to look at Chris with Will-like eyes; less cynical, more trusting; eyes that took in the good in people; eyes that were optimistic. Even after all Will went through. Will blamed himself more than he blamed anyone else. Sonny loved Will for that outlook, among other things. But for now, Sonny thought that he would try to absorb that part of Will's personality into his own. It wasn't as easy as it sounded.

**"Intense. It certainly was. We were…exploring each other, Chris. We got a little excited**." He reached down and grabbed the micro-camera: **"What are you doing here, Chris? We weren't supposed to meet up for another hour…"**

Chris seemed a little confused by that: **"That's what I thought. I was in the midst of changing after a shower when Daniel yelled at me to get going and come here. He said we were late…So I came here, only to hear you two…exploring each other…"**

Sonny lifted the what-he assumed-was-a-micro-camera and presented it for Chris to see. He wanted to see Chris' reaction. For his part Chris looked at the tiny black object with what Sonny thought was semi-recognition:** "I just found this. It fell from the back of the headboard…" **Sonny indicated the headboard with a flick of his head: **"We were a little rough with it, and this fell from it…"**

He tossed the object in Chris' direction, who caught it and brought it closer to himself for further examination. Sonny paid close attention to Chris' reactions once again. What he saw was curiosity that turned quickly into recognition; and that turned just as quickly to anger that was quickly repressed. Chris looked around to Will who was standing near the door and then to Sonny: **"Sonny, please tell me this is yours…that you knew about this."**

Sonny answered quickly: **"I just found this Chris. It looks familiar… doesn't it?"**

Chris looked at Sonny and simply said: **"Very".** His eyes narrowed as if he were trying to decide something. And then he turned abruptly around and headed for the door; and was intercepted by Will: **"Chris. Where are you going? What's going on?"**

Chris stopped in his tracks: **"Will, I'm really sorry. I need to go talk to Daniel…"** Will did not move. He wanted to hear Chris' side of things before he made any judgments of his own. For some reason Will liked Chris. He genuinely believed that Chris was sorry for the things he'd done to Will, and especially to Sonny, in the past. Will wanted to be more like Sonny; more sure of himself; more able to analyse and read people. And in order to become more Sonny-like, Will needed to question things; and so that is what he was trying to do now.

And So Will asked a question. He genuinely wanted an answer: **"Chris, just tell me what is going on, before you go, please…" **And so, Chris let down his defenses:** "I think this is a camera, Will. I think your privacy and Sonny's, has been violated; and I think the violator is my husband…"**

Will simply cocked his head. A gesture that meant:**_"I know there is more to this…And I know you want to tell me…So just tell me."_**And Chris did: **"When that video surfaced at your trial, Will, I confronted Daniel about it. He had told me before that the camera being on was an accident. I caught him looking at you two at the party. I asked him to delete it. He obviously hadn't So after the trial I told him to leave you two alone. He said he would. Obviously…."**

And again Will simply gave Chris a look; a genuine, surprised look with a hint of disappointment in it. Chris looked at Sonny, who was now sitting on the bed, with a standard neutral look on his face. He then looked at Will and continued**: "Will, did Sonny ever tell you what happened to him?"** Will looked at Sonny and then said to Chris: **"He's told me a little…"**

Chris sighed and then explained a few things about Sonny and Chris' past.

I seems that Daniel has a fetish. He is a voyeur of sorts. He enjoyed watching unscripted intimate moments of people in very intimate circumstances. **"Will, Daniel isn't a pervert. He doesn't watch kids, or film them. The ones he watches and films are all adults. The trouble is, even as adults…you have the right to know you are being filmed…And sometimes Daniel makes sure people don't know."**

Chris went on to explain that after Sonny had left the apartment, after being surprised with Daniel in Chris' bed; after being told that Chris and Daniel were in a relationship; after Sonny made it clear that he did not want to be in a relationship with both Chris and Daniel; Daniel had tried to use certain intimate videos that had been taped without Sonny's knowledge, to force Sonny to cooperate.

**"You see Will, Daniel is used to getting his way. He likes to be in control. But Sonny would have none of it. Unfortunately for Daniel, his tactic backfired. Sonny threatened to expose Daniel to the University, he in fact did make a complaint, and Daniel was forced to back off, or potentially lose his job."**

Will simply nodded his head. He knew all that. Sonny had been very forthcoming about these things, even telling Will a bit about it, on the first day Will and Sonny had met, during that long talk they had; elaborating and explaining more when it was clear that Will and Sonny's feelings for each other were genuine and not going to go away. Will told Sonny about the rape and Sonny told Will about Daniel and Chris, and about Max.

So it wasn't that Will didn't know about this story. He still had a hard time figuring out why Chris would put up with this. Chris must have recognized the question is Will's expression because he said: **"Will, not everyone grows up in rosy family situations…" **When Chris saw that Will was going to argue he hastily continued: **"I know you didn't have an easy time of it; that you were raped. And I hope Nick rots in prison, for hurting someone as good as you; but sometimes, when you are in lousy situations you make lousy choices too."**

Chris went on to explain that he hadn't had a very good family life growing up. He ended up supporting himself by making videos; the adult kind. He was making enough money, still going to school, even though most people in his situation didn't bother with school. He managed to support himself through university. Sometimes he hired himself out to make candid videos putting unsuspecting people on camera. Sometimes these people never knew they were being filmed. Sometimes the videos were used to extort things from them.

That is how Daniel met Chris; by viewing one of Chris' videos on the internet. Daniel was so enamored with Chris, he actually paid someone to be able to meet Chris. They hit it off. And since that day Chris never did another video; except for the ones involving Sonny.

By this time Sonny had risen from the bed and gone up to Chris, who seemed about ready to run. He had spoken very openly and his emotions were taking their toll. Sonny gently grabbed Chris by the shoulders and guided him to the couch, sat him down and sat down himself. Will took his cue from Sonny and waited till both Sonny and Chris were seated, then he too sat down, in Sonny's lap. Will was still confused as to Chris' motives: **"Chris, why would you do that to Sonny?" **

Chris shrugged: **"At first I didn't know we were being filmed. When I found out about the videos, Daniel showed me a few. And I found them kind of arousing to watch. I can sort of see why Daniel gets off watching these videos. I didn't think Daniel would use them against Sonny; because I knew that Daniel felt for Sonny the way he felt for me. And I was beginning to feel that way about Sonny too. But when Sonny rejected us, Daniel went kind of crazy."**

Chris stopped, took a deep breath, and scanned Sonny's and Will's faces for their reaction. Sonny's expression was stoic; with a little pity, some anxiety, and a pinch of skepticism thrown in. Chris couldn't blame Sonny for that. Will's expression was mostly compassion, with a little shock. Chris was astounded that Will was taking these revelations so well.

**"Everything had gone back to normal…well normal-ish. Daniel left Sonny alone. Daniel and I got closer and we eventually even got married. Our relationship was, and is still… very unconventional; but it works for us. And then, Will, Daniel saw you. And he saw you with Sonny. And he got obsessed again"**

Will looked even more shocked. He wanted to ask Chris why he would allow this from Daniel; and again, before he could say anything Chris, who must have read Will's expression again, said:** "Will, like I said, Daniel and my relationship is unconventional. He introduced me to you and I was very smitten with you. I thought that, in time maybe, I could get you both to see that our unconventional ways weren't all that bad. But I was willing to wait; except for that stupid stunt I pulled at the club. Daniel, it seems, is very impatient."**

The conversation was interrupted by a familiar sound at the door; well familiar to Will and Sonny. It was the sound of someone saying **"Room service!"** It was Roxy. Will got up to answer the door. Things were about to get even more interesting than they already were; if that was even possible.


	36. Chapter 36

Inspector Roxy Wilson of the RCMP's Sexual Exploitation Unit walked past Will with a nod and a smile. She was not dressed as a maid, but had quickly changed into her work-a-day uniform. She looked rather good in that uniform. It became very apparent, rather quickly, that she was all business on this visit.

**"Christopher MacMillan, My name is Inspector Roxie Wilson of the RCMP. I need to inform you that you have been under investigation for sexual exploitation, voyeurism and illegal wiretapping…"**

Chris looked shocked. His head swiveled as he looked from Inspector Roxy, to Will and then Sonny. Will thought that Chris would be angry at them for causing him to be investigated, but he wasn't. He just looked shocked:

**"But I didn't do anything…" **Chris did not have any time to say anything else. Inspector Roxy interrupted him, by simply raising her hand: **"Mr. MacMillan, I did not say you were being arrested or charged with anything. I am obliged to inform you that you had been under investigation."**

All three of them, Sonny, Will and Chris, looked at Inspector Roxy with very acute curiosity at her choice of words. She must have seen all three expressions because she simply said:

**"It has become clear, in our investigation, that you did not have any prior knowledge about the hidden vid-cams in this hotel room. Also, the video of Mr. Horton and Mr. Kiriakis in the court room, appears to have been hacked from the server your husband was using to store the photo. It was copied before your husband deleted the video, it seems; actually, we are very certain at this point, that it is so."**

Among the three listeners, surprisingly, it was Chris that had a more incredulous look. Sonny and Will followed very closely behind, tying for second place. Also, Chris was first to say something: **"You mean Daniel actually did delete it? Just like he said he did?"**

Inspector Roxie assured Chris that it was indeed the case. She went on to explain that phone and internet service wiretapping, all legal and crown approved, also confirmed that Mr. Horvitz and Mr. MacMillan had nothing to do with the current situation. Neither Chris nor Daniel were involved in the illegal videotaping in Will and Sonny's hotel room_. It just wasn't possible, given time constraints that either one of them physically set up the vid-cams. Also, it had become clear that neither Chris nor Daniel had any opportunity to arrange for someone else to set it up._

Chris, again was the first to speak: **"Well then…who the hell did?"**

Just then there was a knock on the door, a rather rhythmic knock. Roxy perked up:** "Will, would you be so kind as to open the door. I believe Mr. Horvitz is ready to join in the conversation."**

A revelation occurred to Sonny at that moment: **"Inspector, what about the vid-cams? Won't whoever put them in the room be watching and listening?"**

Inspector Roxy smiled and said: **"Nope. They got spooked when you and Will found the vid-cams. The systems are inactive. From now on, if they activate, we will know and we will have prior warning. It is safe to talk. But good question though." **Sonny couldn't help but smile and Will couldn't help but be proud of Sonny.

A relieved Will trotted to the door and opened it. Sure enough Professor Daniel Horvitz was at the door, escorted by a rather bored looking RCMP officer. Will decided to do the Canadian thing and be polite: **"Hello Professor. Nice to see you."**

Daniel looked at Will with a resigned, yet quite sincere expression and said: **"Hello Will, Could you do me a favour and call me Daniel or Mr. Horvitz, if you can't do that personal….When we aren't in school….and especially in circumstances like this…I don't think academic formality is warranted…"**

Will smiled, letting his expression be both genuine and quite enticing, and said:** "Professor… I am not comfortable…as yet… to be that personal… and as for these circumstances…it appears that you still do warrant my respect…therefore…Professor…welcome to my room…" **Will gestured for Daniel to enter his hotel room. Daniel, for his part, gave Will an incredulous look of his own, not understanding why Will would be this…forgiving.

Sonny, however, knowing Will more than anyone else in this room, simply fell more in love with him, in that moment. Will's incredible ability to find the good in people was, in Sonny's mind, incredibly sexy.

Inspector Roxy indicated that Daniel should sit, and he did. She then addressed the group: **"Professor Horvitz might be able to shed some light onto the situation."**

Daniel took a deep breath before he started his explanation. It seems that he woke up this morning and checked on a few sights on the internet. One such sight was for "candid" movies that usually featured young adult males in provocative, but not sexually explicit situations. It is said to be "candid", because usually the participants are aware that there is a possibility that they could be filmed, since they have given consent; usually in the form of a short videotaped interview. They however never know what situation they will be put in, or when this situation will occur.

It was therefore a great surprise to Daniel when he saw a newly uploaded video that featured Will and Sonny. It was a montage of the two young men being frisky in Daniel's spare bedroom and some very provocative tussling under covers, in a hotel room.

**"I recognized the hotel room right away. That is when I shouted for Chris…"** He then turned to his husband and said: **"Sorry sweetheart**" before continuing: **"to run to your room. I had a feeling that you would never have consented to being filmed in that way…"**

Daniel went on to explain that he then fired off an angry e-mail to the site's admins demanding they explain to him how they got the spare-bedroom footage of Will and Sonny, since it had been deleted. After he sent the e-mail, he had RCMP officers knocking on his hotel room door.

After describing a few more details regarding his surprise at seeing police with a warrant to search his computer…**"and of course finding nothing…", **Inspector Roxy took over:** "Actually, we did find a few things that were…questionable…but the professor has agreed to help in the investigation…in exchange for us disregarding these slight infractions."**

Chris, Sonny and Will, all three of them, simultaneously, shook their heads and shouted, some louder than others: **"What?"**

Inspector Roxy went on to explain that, while being interviewed, Daniel had received a response to his angry e-mail. It essentially was a blackmail note stating that the admins of the website would expose Daniel's and Chris' pasts, if they did not help in filming Will and Sonny in a compromising position; presumably in order to coerce them into doing other more unseemly things.

Inspector Roxy went on to explain that in the course of their investigation they had uncovered a few things. Some of the websites that Daniel frequented online were owned and operated, seemingly, by the same individuals that had dealings with a younger Chris.

It was at this point that Inspector Roxy made her suggestion: **"If all four of you are willing to cooperate. We may be able to take down an illegal and extremely exploitative website, actually a series of websites that preys on the vulnerabilities of young men. Websites that are linked to several prostitution rings in Montreal and Ottawa."**

And that is when it hit Will. He realized what Inspector Roxy was proposing. He also realized that someone, very recently, had predicted this very outcome: **"Oh My God, Inspector! My roommate was right! You want ME to pretend…to pretend to be a…a…a…prostitute!" **Will's cheeks went red with surprise and embarrassment.

Will could just picture Marc's face when he finds this out. First he will be mortified and then…and then he would laugh…really hard…right in Will's face. This was going to be even more ammunition for Marc to tease him.


	37. Chapter 37

**"Oh My God, Inspector! My roommate was right! You want ME to pretend…to pretend to be a…a…a…prostitute!" **Came out of Will's mouth before he had a chance to think.

Sonny went wide-eyed, stood up and walked to Will; he went behind Will and put his arms around Will's chest, to reassure his beautiful boyfriend; all the while trying not to snicker.

Chris looked shocked but recovered saying with an almost straight face: **"Will! Great idea! I could be the john!" **

Sonny couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed, then he said, loosening a hand from Will's chest to wag a finger, and saying: **"Chris, if anyone is going to be Will's john, it's me."**

Daniel let out a guffaw**: "Please. You both are far too young and good-looking to be Will's john. It'll be a stretch even for me…but I'll sacrifice myself for the cause…"**

Will let out an outraged: **"Professor!" **causing everyone to laugh, well everyone except Will.

It was Inspector Roxy that brought people back to earth: **"Will, the RCMP would not expect you to pretend to be a prostitute; pretending to be a naïve innocent put into a compromising situation that perhaps might lead whoever is behind this to believe you might chose that way out to get out of a sticky situation…..perhaps. And judging from your reaction it wouldn't be much of a stretch for you; at least the naïve innocent part…"**

Will, although he was used to being teased, by quite a few experts, was still rather put off by these revelations. He jumped in saying:** "I am not naïve!" **He then gripped tightly at Sonny's arms still around his chest.

Chris stood up and walked towards Will and Sonny, being very careful to maintain a respectable distance between himself and the two lovers:** "Will, there is nothing wrong with being naïve. It is actually rather endearing. Both you, and Sonny are rather naïve when it comes to certain…aspects of life. You more than Sonny…but there is nothing wrong with that."**

Will, still reacting to the initial jest, and feeling a bit self-conscious, began to speak: **"But Chris, I am not…" **He did not have a chance to finish before Chris asked him: **"Will, do you know what a gay bathhouse is? "**

Taken aback by this question, Will simply shrugged and said: **"A place where gay people take showers?" **And before Chris could correct Will, Sonny said**: Will, they do have showers in a gay bathhouse; but it is more a place where gay people go to have sex." **

Everyone's eyes seemed to be on Will's reaction, for some reason. His eyes went wide. Chris took the opportunity to expound on Sonny's definition:** "Will, there are usually places where people can meet; public areas, and although they aren't supposed to, a lot of the time people have sex with more than one person while others watch. And then there are the dark rooms where you may not even know who you are partnering with…"**

Will was astounded. He twirled in Sonny's arms, and placed his arms on sonny's shoulders; looked deeply into Sonny's eyes and said:** "I can't imagine being intimate with anyone but you, Sonny."**

Sonny smiled, gave Will a gentle, sensuous, yet very quick peck on the lips and said: **"I can't either babe." **And then they began to stare into each other's eyes, seemingly captivated by one another. No one else mattered to them, in that moment. And that moment lasted a good while.

Inspector Roxy, smirked at the two young men, stood up and said:** "Well, on that note, I will leave the four of you to discuss the proposition. Will and Sonny, although you are both adults, I suggest you get in touch with your parents, to discuss this. You are not under any obligation whatsoever, and please remember that; but if we want to catch whoever is behind this…" **and she pointed around to the now-dormant vid-cams,** "better to set a trap. And any little bit on your parts would be a great help." **

She noticed that the two young lovers weren't really paying attention to anyone or anything but themselves at the moment, so she asked Chris and Daniel to relay the message when they were done….drinking each other in. And then she simply snorted and left the room.

Chris stood up and walked towards Daniel, spun around and sat on Daniel's lap. Sonny and Will had been simply gazing in each other's eyes. Chris gave Daniel a sensuous peck on the lips, looked at Daniel and then at our two young love-birds and started to giggle. Daniel looked at Chris, smiled and said: **"I know."** And he also started to giggle.

Sonny and Will both noticed giggle noises coming from one side of them. They turned their heads to see Chris sitting on Daniel's lap, and Daniel affectionately holding Chris by the waist. They were both giggling, for some odd reason.

It was Will that noticed, well, the lack of someone in the room: **"Where's the Inspector gone? She didn't even say goodbye."**

That was enough to turn Daniel and Chris' giggles into full blown guffaws. It lasted awhile, with Sonny and Will staring at them; frowns developing on their beautiful faces. Daniel was able to calm down, and he spoke: **"Sorry boys, we aren't laughing at you. The Inspector left. She suggested you talk to your parents before you make any decisions."**

Chris knew what Sonny and Will's next question was going to be and so he answered it first:** "We were not laughing at you. It's just rare to see two people in love like the two of you are. You actually zoned out together. It was nice to see."**

Just then, Chris' cell phone rang. He brought it up to look at the number and let out a cry of surprise. He showed the number to Daniel, who frowned, but nodded his head. Chris composed himself, and then answered the call:** "Hello Harold. Why are you calling me. Hmmmmm…Yes….I'll think about it. Right. Harold, if I don't call you back, don't ever call me again…Right."**

After ending the call, Chris sighed. He looked around at the three faces left in the room. He saw concern in Daniel, and confusion radiating from both Will and Sonny. He proceeded to explain who Harold was.

It seems that Harold Frank was the man in charge of a few of the websites that Chris became involved in. Harold was also the man who introduced Daniel to Chris. And as it happens, Harold was the man in charge of the website that Daniel had been watching that morning; he was therefore most likely responsible for the vid-cams in Will and Sonny's hotel room. He was also, most likely, the person that Daniel had been communicating through e-mail, this morning; and the one that was basically trying to blackmail Daniel.

**"Well, Daniel, it appears Harold will be at the main event tonight. He wants to meet up with us. And it appears he wants to meet Will. He wanted my help to arrange it."**

Sonny after having listened to who Harold was, and had a guess as to what Harold wanted from Will was not pleased:** "Will and I will be talking to my dad before we go out this evening. But I have to say that Will will not be going anywhere tonight without me. And we won't be pretending that I don't exist; and we certainly will not be putting the love of my life in any danger; not again. I hope I have made my feelings perfectly clear."**

Daniel and Chris looked at each other and frowned, looked at Sonny. And as they looked at him, not one of them could hold their fake-frown anymore, and so they both smiled, widely.

Daniel took hold of Chris' hand and started to lead Chris to the door: **"Sonny…and Will…I just want to let you know that I am really sorry for what happened. I will do my best to help catch the jerk behind this, whoever he is." **

His face became a little softer, and he turned his attention to Sonny: **"I hope you know that I wouldn't let anything happen to Will; because that would not only hurt him, but it would also hurt you. And I wouldn't want either of you to be hurt."**

Chris then tugged at Daniel and said to Sonny and Will: **"I think Daniel and I will leave you two alone for a little bit. We'll see you in an hour? That should be enough time. It might be just enough time for the two of us" **And he led Daniel out the door.

Daniel and Chris were had barely closed the door behind them before Will pounced on Sonny and laid an enormously passionate kiss on Sonny's moistened lips. Their tongues met and they exchanged breaths as though they were trying to consume one another's souls.

Will brought the kiss he started and stared into Sonny's brilliantly brown eyes: **"Thank you for being protective. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for allowing me to love you. And now, since there are no more cameras to worry about, I'm feeling very much like a fluffy bunny right now; but I need someone to fluff me up more… Know someone who might want to help me with that?"**

For an answer, Sonny picked Will up and flung him on the bed. He was so turned on right now and he wanted to show Will just how much he cared; just how much Will meant to him. He was a little afraid what tonight would bring, but for now, all that mattered was Will.

And Will felt exactly the same about Sonny.


	38. Chapter 38

Will took Sonny's hand as they walked into the nightclub just behind Chris and Daniel. They had walked along Montreal's gay Village several times, taking in the sights. Le Village was filled with people, of all ages, going to and from restaurants. Will saw his first Drag Show, ever; it actually was quite fun.

Daniel had suggested they go to one of the strip clubs on the main drag; Will suspected it was mainly for the shock value, to get a rise out of him. Will stopped and straightened up; and gave Daniel a look that he hoped Daniel would interpret as Oh-No-You-Did-Not-Just-Say-That. He then said: **"Professor, I'm not a child. I know what a strip club is… I even know what a bathhouse is; although I thought it was called a sauna…I have watched gay porn. I'm not a prude. I do know things. But NO, I do not want to go to a strip club. Sonny stripping for me is enough. He is all I want. Please respect that."**

Daniel laughed, and after he calmed down, he managed to say: **"Will, I know. I know you aren't gullible. It is just very rare to find two people, especially two people your and Sonny's age, to…not be….overly adventurous. The fact that you both find each other to be…more than enough… is quite amazing. In fact I may be a little jealous."**

Chris looked at Daniel, and then at Will, smiled and said: **"Will, I think Daniel is more interested in seeing the strip club patron's reaction to someone as stunningly gorgeous as you, and Sonny, walking in; I know I am. They would probably think you were both strippers and try to put money down your pants. They did that to me when I was your age…and I was never as good looking as you"**

Will remembered that Sonny, Chris and Daniel roared with laughter at the simple gesture of Will rolling his eyes.

As they crossed the threshold of the club, the bouncer asked for proof of age. Daniel and Chris smirked, but both showed their identification. Sonny presented his, but the bouncer barely looked at it. Will didn't even get a chance to show his. He was basically told that it wasn't necessary. He and Sonny would get in on looks alone, because they met the uber-cuteness factor. Will presented his ID anyway.

They walked in and walked along a series of catacomb-like corridors that opened up to a series of cavernous-like open spaces; every one of which had a bar; there were different types of music playing in each space, but it was all very loud. Daniel and Chris led Sonny and Will to the center bar and they all ordered drinks.

Sonny ordered a beer for himself and one for Will. They had been warned by none other than Justin Kiriakis himself to not go overboard on the drinking tonight. They would need their wits about them.

Justin was not happy with the RCMP proposal and he expressed some doubts about Daniel's participation in this whole thing. Justin still didn't trust Daniel; all Sonny could say to that was:** "Dad, join the Club."**

Sonny and Will outlined the plan, at least the brief outline that they understood of it so far. Justin wasn't at all pleased that Sonny and Will needed to be directly involved in this: "**Don't get me wrong Sonny; I see the value in your participation. I just don't like the risks you'll both be subjected to. You are my son and I worry about you." **

He then turned his attention to Will: **"And as for you young man, I may not be your father; but I might as well be; and I am your lawyer. I will be talking to the RCMP and I will make sure that you are both protected. So stay away from any substances that will impair your judgment."**

With Justin's warning spinning around in both their heads, and with beer in hand, Sonny and Will trotted down to the dance floor. There were a lot of people there that night. Mostly young men around Will and Sonny's age; and quite a few of them were in various stages of intoxication and undress.

Will had never seen this many scantily clad gyrating gay males in his life. It was kind of turning him on. As he looked around he compared them to one another, judged their looks. He tried to analyse how they made him feel; he was a guy after all, and guys will react like they will.

He then looked at Sonny who was actually starting to get into a groove with the music. Will gasped. He gasped because he knew that he was attracted to Sonny from the very moment he first saw him. Will also knew that he fell in love with him that very day. What he only thought he knew, and what the half-naked gyrators around him proved, was that Sonny was perfect; and that there was no one out there for him but Sonny; absolutely no one.

He also realized, from how Sonny was looking at him, that Sonny felt the exact same way about him. And that made Will a very happy man. So happy in fact that he danced his way closer to Sonny, and started to gyrate with his lover, in front of everyone, in a very privately sexy way; and he did not care one bit who saw them.

Sonny was all smiles. He loved the feel of Will's body so close to his own. It became very obvious to him, and to Will, just how much he was loving this. Will smiled at him and gave Sonny his eye-brow raised sexy look. And Sonny took that invitation to heart and lunged forward catching Will's lips with his own; they embraced each other, supple fingers unbuttoning shirts, entangled bodies dancing to the music; oblivious to the effect they were having on everyone else around them. People were stopping to stare.

Chris and Daniel were two of those people. They were enjoying seeing Will and Sonny enjoying each other, but they were also following the crown. Earlier that evening Will had asked them what he and Sonny should do to get the right people's attention.

It was Daniel that told Will simply: **"Will, when you get to the club, just be yourself. Have a good time. People will notice you. Just don't think about it. Let Chris and me worry about getting the right people to notice. You and Sonny just need to be yourselves."**

Chris was very glad to see that Will and Sonny had taken to Daniel's advice in a very big way. They looked like they were having fun together. They looked so into each other, it was amazing. He was still in awe of the fact that both Sonny and Will, but especially Will, did not realize just how attractive they were to others. And that together they took people's breath away.

He scanned the crowd on the off chance this little display would stir someone to action, although it was still early; they had just arrived after all. But sure enough, on one of the balconies looking down from the second floor, he noticed someone whom he recognized as being a colleague of Harold Frank's.

He hadn't seen that person is several years; and quite frankly would have preferred to have never had to see him again, but this is what happens. Sometimes the choices you make come back to bite you; and sometimes the choices that bite you aren't even yours, but your husband's.

He waved, a rather discreet wave, but it did the trick. Soon enough, he was handed four red VIP tickets, and was told two of them were for Sonny and Will. It was also expected that Chris 'deliver the goods' in good time; meaning that he shouldn't dawdle. He nodded to the person who gave him the tickets and then proceeded to dance with Daniel.

In quite a few large clubs, there are VIP areas. In some clubs, where you have to have an invitation to get in in the first place, there are still VIP areas, where you need an extra invitation to get access. Who gets access, one might ask? That varies. Sometimes celebrities don't want the hassle of having to deal with the average crowd; sometimes it is for accessing more illicit activities. And sometimes it is for those people that catch the eye of certain people of influence.

After quite a few songs, Will and Sonny needed a break. They looked around for Daniel and Chris, found them quite easily since Daniel and Chris happened to be right behind them, and then gestured they were going to take a brieak from the dancing, maybe get another beer. Chris and Daniel decided to join them.

At the bar things were a bit quieter, which gave Chris the opportunity to explain that he received four VIP invitations, and that they were expected soon. A look of worry came over Will's features. Not one of the four was wearing a wire, but listening, and audio-visual devices were implanted in several areas of clothing, on everyone. Will expressed his worry that they were going to frisk them or something. He'd seen the movies. It wouldn't end well.

Daniel laughed at said: **"Will, you and Sonny have been so into each other lately you may have missed the conversation with the Inspector when she explained that these were passive devices that wouldn't show on most scanners and that we would have to activate them by cell phone once we needed them."**

Will looked at Sonny. It was a look that said: **"Did you know about this?" **Sonny simply shrugged. Daniel and Chris laughed even harder. They all took a short break to go to the restroom and then headed to the VIP door indicated on the ticket.

When they arrived at the door, they knocked and were asked to show their tickets. They were escorted up a flight of stairs, at the top of which a rather portly man was there to greet them: **"Well hello there Chris and Daniel. It has been a long time. Has it not?"** He held out his hand, a hand that was left hanging there until it was retracted. Harold Frank did not let that stop him. He simply went on: **"I see you are both as polite as ever….and I see you have brought along friends. They have certainly made quite a splash tonight…it will be a pleasure working with them…."**

Sonny, Chris, Will and Danny managed to reach into their pockets and activate their phones, which would automatically activate the audio-visual equipment…they all hoped.

Sonny took Chris and Daniel's silence as his cue to speak: **"Work for you…what do you mean? Will and I are university students…."**

Before Harold could reply and to everyone's surprise, perhaps even his own, Will spoke up:** "So you're the pervert that bugged my hotel room. Did you get any good footage? Make a buck off me yet? Should I expect royalties?"**

The other huge surprise was the answer:** "You should expect, Will, to start doing as you are told, or images, the likes of which you could only dream of, images of Sonny and Chris and Daniel, and some of yours, will be shown across the Internets. You will be humiliated and scorned. I'll see to that, unless you do exactly as I say…"**

Will and Sonny turned to watch a shadowy figure emerge into the light. It was Max.


	39. Chapter 39

Max strutted into the light saying:** "You should expect, Will, to start doing as you are told, or images, the likes of which you could only dream of, images of Sonny and Chris and Daniel, and some of yours, will be shown across the Internets. You will be humiliated and scorned. I'll see to that, unless you do exactly as I say…"**

Will, who would normally be frazzled by the surprise of an adversary that he thought was in jail, but all of a sudden turned up to threaten, yet again, decided that he had had enough.

Will hoped that the recording devices were working, because that one statement was enough to convict Max for yet another crime.

Will noticed that Max had stopped far enough away from Will, so that Will's 'trick-knee' wouldn't be a problem. Will thought that this gesture proved that Max could actually learn, but apparently Max didn't learn enough, or at least not quickly enough. He was still close enough to get hurt.

Will let his leg spring forward. His foot made contact with Max's crotch, and Max crumbled to the ground, clutching his intimate area.

At the same time Will heard voices coming from the entrance to this VIP area. The police were on the way. Within ten minutes several people were arrested including Harold and Max; computers were seized; drugs were confiscated.

Sonny, Will, Chris and Daniel were ushered off to the side and placed under protective custody, just in case. They all seemed a bit bewildered about what had just happened. It was Daniel who finally broke the ice and said: **"Well this was rather anticlimactic. I was expecting at least one shoot-out brawl"**

Will had been hearing moans and groans coming from a few feet away for the last ten minutes. Max had been handcuffed and moved to the side, and allowed to recuperate from a rather powerful kick. Inspector Roxy had put it rather succinctly: **"Well, Mr. Horton, I didn't think you had that much force in you." **The Inspector seemed pleased with Will, yet Will detected a hint of something in her voice and attitude….disappointment?

Since they were all told to stay put, Sonny took this opportunity to take Will's hand into his own. Will gazed into Sonny's chocolaty eyes, leaned in and kissed Sonny gently on the lips. They parted to breathe a little and simply gazed at each other, taking whatever they could see in.

The groans stopped and Max started to glare at Will. Max then spoke: **"You shouldn't have done that…" **Will wasn't paying any attention he was too busy looking into Sonny's eyes. Max repeated what he said a little louder. No one responded. Max changed his tactic: **"You'll be sorry"** he said.

Will's attention was still on Sonny. So Max played the last card he had: **"I have your roommate, Will. I have Marc."**

That got Will's attention. It also got Sonny's, Chris' and Daniel's attention as well. The police were occupied with other things. Sonny knelt down to Max and said: **"What have you done to Marc? He's with his parents in Outremont. We'll be visiting with him tomorrow. "**

Max looked at Sonny and then at Will:** "Listen to me carefully Will, my uncle became very interested in you, so we made a deal. I could have Sonny. And he could have you. My uncle's men took Marc this afternoon, to trade. "**

Max went on to say that Marc was safe. But he wouldn't be for long. There wasn't much time. There was a car waiting for Will outside. It would take Will to Max's uncle. If Will didn't show, then Marc would be substituted.

**"Will, my uncle will treat you a lot better than he would Marc. He is infatuated with you. Marc is expendable. He won't have much of a life, and not a very long one. It is also likely to be rather painful. You need to decide now."**

Chris couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did this guy really think he could get away with this?** "Who the hell are you?" **he asked Max.

It was Sonny who answered: **"He is an ex-friend of mine, a prominent jack-ass. His name is Maxime Thibodeau."**

Chris' eyes bulged with recognition. He had been looking at Max , thinking that he had seen Max somewhere before. But it wasn't Max he had seen. It was someone else: **"Oh My God!" **He looked at Max:** "You are Jean-Charles Thibodeau's nephew…aren't you?"**

Max shrugged, but it was a shrug that acknowledged what Chris had said. Chris turned to Will and Sonny and said:** "J.C. was a client of mine, when I was younger, that I tried to avoid whenever possible. I had friends that took J.C. at his word, and went with him. They were never seen again."**

Chris went on to explain that J.C. Thibodeau was known to have very eclectic taste in young men. Usually they were much younger than even Will. But Chris could see why Will would be J.C.'s type:** "Will, you have an innocence about you that would intrigue J.C. You are also extremely good looking. And to top it all off, you have had to deal with bad things happening to you. All this would make you honey to J.C.'s black bear. It is not a surprise that he would find you irresistible."**

Sonny was adamant that Will would not be going; but Will simply looked at Sonny, his eyes filled with compassion:** "Sunshine, you know I can't leave Marc to this predator. I have to go Sonny. I'll leave it to you to arrange things." **

Will left the VIP area and headed to the front of the club. Before he left, he gestured to Sonny, blowing him a kiss and giving him a 'call me' sign with one hand.

He headed outside and noticed a limousine. The chauffeur had a sign that said:** "Will Horton" **This reminded Will of his arrival to Ottawa, to Canada; Sonny holding up his dorky sign that said:**"U of O welcomes William Robert Horton"** Tears started forming in Will's ocean-blue eyes.

It seemed like a lifetime ago, but was really only a month and a half ago, that Will met the love of his life; a love that he may never see again. But he couldn't let anything happen to Marc, a person who had also become very important to Will. If not for Marc, Sonny and Will might still be skirting around each other's feelings for the other. Will owed Marc a lot.

The limo ride lasted about thirty minutes. They ended up at the International Airport, in a little hangar near where the smaller private planes were being housed.

The chauffeur opened the door for Will and indicated to him that he should enter the nearest hangar. Will told the chauffeur to wait. Someone should be out momentarily and should be taken back to the club. Will then started walking towards the hangar.

Sonny had watched Will leave the club, and he was devastated. He and promised Will, and himself; heck he had even promised Will's deceased boyfriend Neil, that he wouldn't leave Will's side this night. He wanted to protect Will; he wanted to protect the love of his life. But sometimes, one simply can't; sometimes one just has to let life happen. This was the case with Will. Sonny knew how Will felt about Marc, because Sonny felt the same way. They couldn't just let Marc rot somewhere in Thailand, or elsewhere, enduring god-knows-what kinds of abuses.

So, Sonny let Will go. And then Sonny went directly to Inspector Roxy, and told her everything.

Inspector Roxy took charge and activated the GPS in Will's phone and reactivated the audio-visual equipment in Will's clothing. In the Inspector's mind, this was actually part of the contingency plan. She was experienced enough to know that the situation they found themselves in with Will, was a very real possibility, and so she actually planned for it. Sonny seemed to think she was even ecstatic about what Will had done. He had thought she would be mad. She wasn't. She looked…determined.

Therefore, while Will was walking towards the hangar, several things had already been put into place.

Will's position was triangulated. Police officers were sent to follow him. Sonny, Chris and Daniel were put in a vehicle in order for them to be close at hand; in case they were needed. Sonny actually insisted on going.

Will, of course didn't know any of this when he walked into the hangar. It was a rather open space. There were only a few individuals there, in the middle of the hangar. One of them was Marc, seated and blindfolded and gagged. Another was a man in his fifties, rather shifty looking. He was surrounded by three ominous looking thugs.

To break the ice, Will stated: **"I'm Will Horton. Now, let Marc go. The limo is still outside. When Marc gets back to Sonny, Max will call and then I will go… and do… whatever you want."**

The older man smirked and said: **"You are going to do that regardless Will. My, you are so beautiful in person, even more than in your videos."**


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: This chapter contains allusions to non-consensual scenarios. If you are sensitive to the subject please skip this chapter.**

* * *

Will he heard M. Thibodeau say these word: "**My, you** **are so beautiful in person, even more than in your videos."** Hearing this older man call him beautiful made Will sick. He had a gut response; in short, he was repulsed. He tried not to show it.' It was a losing battle. Will tried to analyse why this man made him feel so dirty.

When Sonny called Will beautiful, it sometimes made Will so happy he blushed. Even when Chris or Daniel called him beautiful, the sexual undertones made Will uneasy, but not like this; never like this.

He was so uneasy that he blurted out: **"I am not beautiful. Don't call me that." **He could actually feel his cheeks as they heated up.

For his part, Jean-Charles Thibodeau smirked at Will's uneasiness. He walked over to where Marc was sitting, tied-up, and gagged. He brushed a hand in Marc hair. Will could see Marc physically react. Marc was afraid; he was also repulsed. The older man smiled and let out a laugh:

**"Will, my boy, Marc is it? Yes Marc here is rather handsome, in a lean, sporty kind of way. He seems very masculine; he uses humour both as a defense and as a weapon. To some people, that is rather sexy; but beautiful? I don't think so."**

Then M. Thibodeau used Sonny as an example. Sonny had rugged good looks. He had a sense of himself that was intriguing. He was confident. His physical appearance matched his inner strengths. He had vulnerabilities, some of which he allowed to show. He was kind and compassionate. He would be a rather good lover.

**"Sonny is gorgeous and his beauty is striking; but Will, even Sonny doesn't hold a candle to you."**

Will was dumbfounded. He did not understand how this older guy could be so accurate in describing a person; yet make it sound so superficial and meaningless all that the same time. Will braced himself for hearing how this man perceived him.

Apparently M. Thibodeau could read Will's expression. He smiled and said: **"I am rather observant Will, I enjoy reading people. The little gestures one has when one thinks no one is looking. You have been intriguing, to say the least."**

Apparently M. Thibodeau had access to more video footage than just the video from Chris and Daniel's apartment and the hotel. He talked about how Will moved during his speech at Neil's funeral; how he held Sonny, and how he let Sonny hold him.

**"The way your face changed when Sonny came up behind you was very telling. You were in love with him even then. Weren't you?"**

Will's eyes narrowed almost to the point of closure. His features hardened, trying desperately to not reveal his feelings; although that was almost impossible for Will. He knew that this Thibodeau character was playing games with him.

He also knew that he needed to stall. He hoped that Sonny had talked to the Inspector and that Inspector Roxy put things in motion to help free Marc. But in case they didn't or couldn't, he needed to try and get Marc out of there himself.

**"Yes I was in love with Sonny even then. If you want me to answer any more questions let Marc go."**

Jean-Charles Thibodeau brought a hand to Marc's face and slapped it, firmly. Will could see that it hurt. Marc made an alarmed grunting sound.

**"Will, you are not in any position to negotiate. However, I will concede this. Marc is part of a rather influential family. I am aware that his disappearance would make life very difficult for me…"**

M. Thibodeau went on to explain that Sonny would also be a problem, his family had even more influence than Marc's did; which is why Jean-Claude made the decision to allow his nephew to keep Sonny. Will was a slightly different story.

Will's family had influence that even Sonny's family did not. Will could not disappear. In order for things to work, Will would have to go with the older gentleman willingly. And so this game was Jean-Charles's way of finding out if this were possible. Marc was his insurance. And so, Jean-Charles asked his next question:

**"At that time, at the funeral, you and Sonny hadn't acted like bunnies yet had you."**

Will was surprised that this was said more as a statement then a question. He was even more surprised by the term 'bunnies'. Not too many people knew about that. He was surprised enough that he simply shook his head.

The next question was also a surprise: **"Would you have hurt that man with the sign outside the auditorium if Sonny hadn't stopped you?"**

Will did not hesitate in answering: **"That bigot was going after the memory of someone I cared about. I would have hurt him, yes. I'll hurt anyone that harms someone I care about…Let. Marc. Go."**

Then M. Thibodeau asked his next question. Will stiffened. He knew where things were going and he did not like it one bit. Jean-Charles had asked: **"Will, How did you feel when you were raped?" **

As Jean-Charles said those words, he ruffled Marc's hair and bent down and untied the gag around Marc's mouth. He whispered to Marc that if he spoke out of turn his life from then on would be a living hell. **"Try not to be funny"**

Will was cold. He wasn't sure how long he could stall. He tried to ascertain how long it had been since he had arrived at the hangar; and he wondered what was taking the police so long to get here. He hoped they were listening in, or videotaping or both. He needed to find a way to tell them that things were about to become desperate; if not for Will, then at the very least for Marc.

He realized that he must have been frozen in thought for a while, because, when he looked at M. Thibodeau again, Jean-Charles simply said: **"Will, answer my question."**

Will looked at Marc; even through the blindfold Will could tell that Marc was terrified. Will wasn't sure what he could do. If he refused to answer, he was unsure…no he was very afraid of what the consequences would be… to himself and to Marc.

He decided that the only course of action plausible, one that would enable the police enough time to show up and stop any serious events from happening, would be to answer the question truthfully; and he did.

He started by telling Jean-Charles how he felt when Nick started to assault him. The truth was, he couldn't believe what was happening at first. And then the pain started. And he couldn't dismiss this as a dream or a nightmare. This was real.

Will tried to fight back. He really did. But it was of no use. It seemed that it wasn't just Nick that was holding him down. He felt trapped.

**"When I couldn't help Neil, who was being beaten up because he tried to defend me, not only did I feel helpless, but I felt sick to my stomach. I felt responsible for what was happening to him."**

Will recounted to Jean-Charles how Nick kept whispering to him that it was Will's fault that this was happening to him. That if he hadn't been so enticing; if he didn't exude so much raw sensuality and sexuality, that the rape would not be happening at all.

**"I felt so dirty. And I felt so guilty. Nick was so close to making me feel that I was doing harm just for being me; that it was my fault that he was tempted to do what he was doing. But I still tried to fight back." **

Will ended his account by saying:** "I wouldn't wish this on anyone."**

And that was probably the wrong thing to say to someone like Jean-Charles Thibodeau. He smiled when Will expressed his compassionate wish and ran his fingers through Marc's hair once more.

M. Thibodeau smirked and asked another question: **"You felt guilty and dirty. Do you still feel that way?"**

Will looked directly at the older man and decided to be honest: **"Sometimes, yes I do."**

M. Thibodeau nodded and smiled through saying: **"But not always. What changed?"**

Will knew the answer. It was on his lips to tell, and must have been on his face as well because M. Thibodeau answered his own question: **"Sonny Kiriakis."** Will simply nodded his agreement.

Jean-Charles then expressed his opinion of the change. He told Will that he could tell every time Will thought of Sonny. Will became more relaxed, more calm. That Sonny's love, his influence, had made Will much more confident in himself, and that Will felt more comfortable in expressing his feelings because of that.

And then M. Thibodeau surprised Will yet again. M. Thibodeau's smirk became even larger as he ran his fingers through Marc's hair:

**"Will, thank you for your honesty. Now I want you to come closer. Come to Marc and kiss him the way you would kiss Sonny. I would like to see a demonstration of your intimacy with Sonny and since he isn't here, Marc will have to do."**

And that, for Will, was wrong on so many levels. First of all, Marc was like a brother to him. Kissing a brother like he would kiss Sonny would just be wrong; extremely weird and very wrong.

But his reluctance was based on much more than that. Marc was straight. Making Marc endure that kind of intimacy, that level of sexuality, that he would not be comfortable with, was alien to Will. It felt like rape to him; forcing someone to experience an intimacy that one wasn't ready for or built for. It was just wrong.

He would not be kissing Marc, but Will walked up to him nonetheless. Will wanted to see Marc up close. There had been something bothering him from the moment that he had seen this older pervert tussle Marc's hair. Marc had hardly reacted.

Will recognized that feeling. It had settled in after a while during his ordeal with Nick. Marc was exhibiting all the signs of someone who had gone through something terrible and now was just sitting there waiting; a sense of resigned fear exuding through every pore. Will could almost smell it.

Will walked up to Marc, knelt beside him and started to take off the blindfold. M. Thibodeau seemed rather uncomfortable with that but did not stop Will. When the blindfold was off, Will could see Marc's puffed-up eyes, bruises from being hit.

Will saw M. Thibodeau's hand grip at Marc's hair tighter. And Marc said: **"Will please just to as he says. Kiss me. It's okay."**

This was definitely not okay. Will bent closer to Marc's ear and whispered: "**Has he hurt you yet?"**

Marc and M. Thibodeau both knew what Will meant. Marc shook his head and said:** "No Will, but please just do as he says."**

Will could see Marc's pleading eyes. Marc meant what he was saying. Will wondered why Marc would allow this and then the answer hit him. He slowly got to his feet. He was very close to M. Thibodeau at that moment. M. Thibodeau was looking at him with such confident arrogance Will just wanted to hit him, but he restrained himself.

**"You told Marc what you were going to ask of me, of him; didn't you. That is why he is so calm. He knows what's coming."**

Will then asked Jean-Charles what exactly his promises to Marc were;was it that if Marc allowed Will to use him that Jean-Charles would allow him to go free? Allow both Marc and Will to go free?

**"But you have no intentions of doing that, do you? I've experienced sick people before, but you, sir, are something else." **

Will heard Marc whimper in pain and realized that Jean-Charles had tightened his grip in Marc's hair even more. Mr. Thibodeau simply smirked, a condescending arrogant smirk and said:** "Will, I advise you to take Marc up on his offer, before someone gets seriously hurt." **

Will, in his turn, smirked and said:** "And I would advise you, Mr. Pervert, to communicate more with your nephew. He should have warned you not to let me get so close…"**

Will's knee shot up and hit M. Thibodeau in the groin. Jean-Charles toppled to the ground in pain.

Several other things happened at three men surrounding Will pulled their weapons out, but were immediately ordered to stand down by a familiar and welcomed voice. Inspector Roxy and a profusion of police officers, from several different departments had surrounded the area, guns drawn and ready.

Within minutes the scene was under police control. Arrests were made. Both M. Thibodeau and Marc were being looked after by EMS workers; although the EMS workers working on Marc seemed to be much more kind to him than those working on M. Thibodeau.

Will heard one of them saying something to the effect of: **"If it were me I'd have ripped his testies right out of him… Mr...just breathe through it…you'll be fine…a shame though."**

Inspector Roxy walked up to Will and shook his hand. She thanked him for his quick decision to comply with Max's and Jean-Charles' demands, and the trust he showed in her to get to him before matters got any worse.

She explained that there won't be much of a debrief because they got everything they needed on tape, as well as testimony from Max:

**"I've been after M. Thibodeau for a long time now. He won't get away from this as easily as in the past; Thanks to you and Marc, and Sonny."**

At the sound of Sonny name's, Will suddenly needed to know where Sonny was. Will turned around and saw Sonny waiting patiently behind a line of officers.

Will rushed to Sonny, slamming into him; arms on shoulders, fingers in hair; and lips connected to lips. They breathed each other in for what seemed like an eternity.

Sonny finally untangled from Will's grip to say: **"Will, I have a mind to handcuff you to my side and never let you go. We have to promise each other never to leave the other like that again. It was excruciating."**

Will smirked, a sexy omen-for-things-to come smirk and said:** "Handcuffs, huh? That might be fun."**

They both walked over to Marc, to see how he was doing.


	41. Chapter 41

Dr. Pinot sat in his chair, after allowing his guests, to get comfortable. Two of his guests seemed happy to be here. Well happy may be too strong a word. Let's just say that they were resigned to be here; that they accepted the request from the university, the police and their parents to come in for a little chat with good 'ole Dr. Pinot. They were sitting down, although they were somewhat fidgety.

One of the three, however, still standing, was also still a little reluctant. Okay let's just say he was this close to being downright hostile and leave it at that. **"This is ridiculous" **said Marc, in as emphatic a tone as he could muster:** "Really. Why are we here? I keep telling people over and over that nothing happened to me. And no one…" **and Marc looked directly at Will and then Sonny and then continued:** "…seems to want to believe me."**

Dr. Pinot took his time to acknowledge Marc's remarks, thinking that either Sonny or Will would do that for him. They did not. They simply stared at Marc. Although Dr. Pinot noticed that they were not hostile stares. They could even be considered stares of concern; and not for themselves, or for their personal safety. They were concerned for Marc, and it showed.

And so Dr. Pinot took it upon himself to acknowledge Marc; he was the therapist after all. He simply stated the facts. All parties, which included the university administration, several professors, several different police forces, and each students sets of parents, and some grandparents as well, were concerned that the three students here present were dealing appropriately (emotionally and psychologically) as a result of the events that happened almost a week ago. He reminded Marc that he, as well as Sonny and Will were all given the option of a private or group session; in fact the group session was Marc's idea.

Marc sneered at the end of Dr. Pinot's explanation: **"You throw one seriously under-used spare laptop out the window and everyone thinks you're crazy."**

Dr. Pinot remained silent hoping that one of the other two would engage with Marc. He was not disappointed. Sonny stood up, and faced Marc: **"The window wasn't open…"**

This of course allowed Will, who was seriously trying to remain calm, to open his emotional flood-valve: Will also stood up and faced Marc. Will however was slightly more vehement in his expression: **"Who made you the laptop usage police to make a judgement that a laptop wasn't being used enough and that it was okay to throw it out a window…"** Will looked at Sonny and continued: **"Closed or not" **He then turned back to Marc: **"I liked that laptop."**

Having three young adult males in a hormonally charged aggressive state, ready to pounce on one another, or at the very least two against one, which wasn't really fair, was not Dr. Pinot's idea of a productive session. He tried to calm things down the only way he felt he could. He stood up and shouted in as compassionate a way as he could, without looking weak and stupid:

**"Boys! Sit the hell down and talk to each other. You are at the very least extremely close friends with one another…So start acting like it!"**

The boys all sat down. Sonny and Will sat together, rather closely together, which made Dr. Pinot think that that was a good sign. Marc sat much further away, although on the same couch.

Dr. Pinot simply sat there, waiting; he didn't have to wait for long. Sonny opened the conversation with:** "Marc, it's lucky you weren't expelled for doing that. But maybe that's what you wanted…"**

Marc took in what Sonny said and decided to ignore the implication of Sonny's statement. He did however acknowledge one truth: **"Someone …" **as he glanced at Will**, "…was truly pissing me off."**

And again that opened the flood-gates for Will. This time Will remained relatively calm. did see Will grab Sonny's hand and he apparently squeezed so tight, and so unexpectedly that it made Sonny wince; although Sonny tried very hard to not let Will know, and he succeeded.

Will took deep breaths and paused repeatedly to remain in control: **"Marc…I only asked you those questions…because you lied…"** Will could see that using that word was going to put Marc over the edge again. Anger sprang to Marc's features, leopard-like in its force.

Will breathed again and continued: **"…you omitted certain things that were consequently proven true during the routine medical examination afterwards…"**

Because of the extent of Max's injuries, and because Inspector Roxy did not want to leave any stone unturned, the doctors examined Max for any trauma, sexual or otherwise. And they found some.

Marc had bruises on his face, that was plainly obvious; but also on his ribs, his back, and his inner thigh. Although, as the doctors put it, **"There were no signs of anal penetration";** as Marc put it, **"Because there wasn't effing any." **But they did find bruising and tears around Marc's mouth that he refused to explain. But the physical evidence alone was enough for the elusive Jean-Charles Thibodeau to be charged with sexual assault. Marc however refused to talk about it, to anyone.

Will did not take the news very well. He was extremely upset. He of course blamed himself for Marc's situation. Sonny tried to console Will as best he could, but Will even refused to see Marc after hearing the results. Sonny had gotten over that hump quickly by asking Will what he would have thought if people refused to see him because of what they thought might have happened.

Will had simply looked at Sonny and said:** "People did do that." **He then marched right into Marc's room and sat with him.

Things between Marc and Will were fine after that. Well fine, because Marc wouldn't talk to Will about what happened, in fact it was like he pretended that nothing did. And Will did not say anything either, trying to give Marc some time and space, because Will knew that that is what Marc needed, because Will had needed the same thing.

Will and Sonny had even gone to Marc's house for dinner the next day, as they had planned to do. Tension was high. The family was cordial enough. Even thanking Will for risking his own well-being to help Marc. All Will could say to that was: **"Marc wouldn't have been in that situation if it weren't for me. So what else was I supposed to do?"** The subject was quickly changed and Thanksgiving celebrations proceeded, if perhaps just slightly more tense than in normal years.

Dr. Pinot listened to Marc and Will and then to Sonny he asked: **"So it wasn't until after you all returned to the dorm that things deteriorated between those two?"**

Sonny nodded: **"It started happening on Wednesday morning. That's when I started hearing shouts. The night before Will had stayed with me in my room. So Tuesday night was the first night Will and Marc were in the same room together. So if Marc had a nightmare the night before, he didn't tell us."**

The drive home from Montreal was uneventful. Things seemed to be back to normal. Marc was teasing Will about Marc's little sister, who seemed to have developed a little crush on Will. They talked about mid-terms coming up and argued about music, and YouTube video preferences.

Once back at Ottawa U things became even more normal. Sonny, Will and Marc got home rather late on Monday night. Will seemed to need to spend time with Sonny, so who was Sonny to say no. Will spent the night. Marc almost seemed relieved that Will would be with Sonny.

Classes re-started on Tuesday. It was an early day for Will and for Marc. Will spent the evening studying in Sonny's room. He wanted to give Marc all the space that he needed. When it came time to go to bed Will opened the door, went quietly to his side of the room and fell asleep. Marc was already in bed and asleep.

It was about two in the morning the first time Will was woken up by Marc mumbling in his sleep. Will went to Marc's side of the bed and simply whispered to Marc if he were okay. That calmed him down. So Will went back to sleep.

Will was woken up three more times during the night and repeated the same actions with the same result. In the morning, when Marc finally woke up, and Will asked him if he were okay. Marc replied, in a rather curt manner that he was fine.

Will didn't seem to believe him. He told Marc that he was mumbling loudly in his sleep and that Will had been woken up four times during the night. Marc responded by asking Will if Will understood what Marc had been saying during the night. Will responded that he hadn't. That seemed to satisfy Marc; and that worried Will.

Will then made the mistake of asking Marc if he were ready to tell him what really happened with Thibideau. And that is when Marc sort of lost it: **"I keep telling you that nothing happened! Are you calling me a liar? Why don't you mind your own effing business Will?!"**

There were quite a few more choice words and that is when Sonny stepped in. He managed to calm both his floor mates down.

Wednesday was another busy day for everyone. At the end of the day, they all went to the cafeteria for supper. Will and Sonny repeated their alone time/study-time process in Sonny's room. And Will returned to his room as late as the night before. This time Marc was still up. In a very short time both Marc and Will were fast asleep.

Dr. Pinot listened to Sonny, then Will, speak about the events leading up to the incident with the laptop. Marc was very silent. Dr. Pinot tried to get Marc to open up about it, but so far, nothing was working.

**"Marc, you aren't saying much. You lost control yesterday. You threw a laptop at a window. Normally something like would mean charges, maybe even expulsion. The university is willing to be lenient, but you have to coöperate. Do you know why you threw that laptop out the window?"**

Marc simply shrugged: **"I've already told you. Will pissed me off. I just grabbed the nearest thing in front of me and flung it as hard as I could."** He looked at Will and with all sincerity said: **"I'm sorry Will."**

Dr. Pinot was glad that Marc was opening up and also that Marc was showing remorse. But Marc was keeping a lot of emotions inside. And so Dr. Pinot pushed Marc, just a little, to open up a little more: **"What did Will do to anger you so much?"**

**"He kept pestering me to tell him what that Thibodeau pervert really did to me."**

Will could see that Marc was seriously agitated. He knew the signs. He had lived through this. Guilt and shame. He didn't want Marc to feel that and he felt guilty that he was the reason Marc had been taken. But he wasn't the important one right now. Marc was; and Marc was obviously hurting. He decided that he didn't need to know what really happened. If Marc didn't want to tell him that was okay:

**"Marc, I'm sorry I pressured you. I guess I did it because I felt, and still feel guilty for what happened. But I do want to thank you, once again. You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save me. That was brave…and stupid. But I will always love you for it."**

Will went on to tell Marc that he knew from experience that keeping things inside was not the answer. Will knew that from very personal experience . Also, whatever happened, even if nothing else than being beaten up, that was still assault and it was traumatic and Dr. Pinot would be a great person to talk to. No one but the doc would ever need to know.

**"The only reason why I bugged you Marc was because I care; and I just want you to be okay with yourself because you are certainly okay in my book. Dr. Pinot is a great person to talk to. Please talk to him. I promise you I will leave you alone."**

Will went to get up. He was stopped by a rather strong hand. It wasn't Sonny; it was Marc. Marc was not teary but Will could tell that he was emotional.

Marc told Will that what happened to him was nowhere near as bad as what Will went through. When Will started to protest, Marc continued:

**"I wasn't raped Will. I promise you that. I was beaten, and fondled a little. Alright, okay…He was going to try something, he even forced my mouth open. But I told him I still had teeth and his "little friend" looked kind of soft, so it would be easy to bite through. He punched me, but then left me alone. But I would do it all over again because it kept you safe."**

With that Will went up to Marc and hugged him. Sonny went up to both of them and put a hand on Marc's shoulder while prompting Will to crane his neck so that Sonny could lay a tender kiss on Will's lips.

Dr. Pinot smiled:** "Okay Will and Sonny. I'd like a few minutes alone with Marc if you two wouldn't mind going out in the hall for a while. Stay visible okay. No sneaking off to some closet for any alone time. You two look far too inclined to do that."**

* * *

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone who has read this s/l, commented and reviewed. Please note that I will be taking a hiatus from writing this s/l and when I resume the story will jump forward. If you have a preference as to the time it jumps to please let me know...my preference would be jumping to next year where Sonny, Will and Marc find an apartment together...but more ideas would be appreciated.**


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